Shinji and Asuka
by DeadlyPole
Summary: What happens when Shinji can't take Asuka's behaviour anymore? Read and find out. ShinjiXAsuka pairing. Rated M for explicit scenes/coarse language. Please R&R. Chapters 1-7 have been rewritten. Chapters 8 & onward to be rewritten.
1. Shinji's Decision

Author's Notes: I wrote a Shaman King lemon oneshot and told myself I would not write another story till it received at least one review. So here I am now writing my first chapter of "Shinji and Asuka", this is probably going to be long story, and I'll try to update when I can.

_Disclaimer: I do not own Gainax, Evangelion or any of its characters. This story is a non-profit creative writing based on the series 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' which does not belong to me in any way. _

Some notes:

Baka: idiot

Mein Gott: My God

"" Speech quotations

'' thought quotations

An important note, this story has one change in the storyline and that is the fact that Touji did not lose any limbs when his infected evangelion was defeated by Shinji.

A note to say this is the rewritten chapter 1.

* * *

**##########WARNING!##########**

***WARNING!* This chapter may contain material that is offensive to many readers. If you do not wish to read this entire chapter, go to the 'skip end' when you see the 'skip'. I will provide a chapter summary of this chapter at the bottom for those who don't want to read this chapter at all. This will be the only time I do this, as this is the only chapter some people might not be able to read.**

**##########WARNING!##########**

Chapter 1: Shinji's decision

It was a quiet afternoon at the Katsuragi residence. Currently there were only two occupants inside the dwelling. They both had no idea about the event that was about to transpire, that would change both their lives forever. The young girl knocked the boy over the head with her fist, annoyed at his incompetence.

"Shinji you baka, you haven't made me dinner yet and I'm hungry. I highly recommend you don't keep me waiting," shouted the clearly aggravated redhead called Asuka.

"Alright, alright gimme a sec," he squeaked in reply, "jeez can't she leave me alone for one day?" muttered the brown haired boy named Shinji as she turned away.

"What did you say?" she demanded, refocusing her attention on him.

"Nothing!" he replied instantly.

"I heard you say something you spineless wimp," she said snarling at him.

"I'm sorry" he replied on impulse.

"BAKA! Just shut up!" she said smacking him on the forehead before turning around and storming off.

Shinji sighed and went to the kitchen to start making dinner. The young boy was finding it more and more difficult to deal with his roommate. It had all started back after he defeated the 14th angel and returned from being absorbed by Unit 01. She had treated him coldly when he returned and had since made sure to put him down and make him suffer at every given moment. He couldn't understand what he had done to make her behave this way towards him. Even after asking Misato about it, she just told him to wait till Asuka settled down, she was only angry because she had lost to the angel and her sync ratio was very low.

But Shinji thought it was extremely unfair that he should have to deal with her abusive behaviour just because she was a little unhappy. Where did his feelings come into account? But of course Misato was too busy to do anything about it, she didn't even know how bad it was, she just thought Asuka was behaving like her usual self. Shinji could stand her usual behaviour, in fact he didn't mind it, it brought some fun into his life, but with her current constant smacking, yelling and insulting he was really being worn down.

She had on many occasions refused to eat his cooking, even going as far as to throw it in his face. The redhead would 'accidentally' step on his toes whenever she was walking next to him. The amount of times he had been called stupid in one day was easily over 200, she would even use it to address him when she wanted his attention. With the sheer amount of physical abuse she gave him, be it a smack or a slap, it was a wonder he still had brain cells left. But Shinji just said sorry and placed the blame on himself like he always did.

Remembering that he was supposed to be making dinner, he quickly scrounged the fridge for some ingredients and found barely anything. 'What am I going to do? No matter how I look at it, whatever I make with only this is going to piss Asuka off' he thought with dismay. The young boy decided to just make some ramen; it was the safest out of all the choices available. At once he began preparing the meal in the kitchen, temporarily taking his mind off Asuka.

After a while, the smell of food had brought the redhead rushing in and she decided to sit down at the table as she waited for Shinji to finish. The male eva pilot brought the finished meal to the table and set it down in front of Asuka. She just looked at her meal distastefully.

"Why do you always have to make the same stinking Japanese food? Don't you have any taste at all?" she asked annoyed.

"I'm sorry Asuka there was nothing in the fridge, it was all I could make" he replied timidly.

"Stop saying sorry you baka" she snapped.

"I'm sor-"

"I will seriously rip your tongue out if you finish that word!" she roared.

"Ummm, enjoy your meal Asuka" he said lamely.

She snorted at this but didn't say anything. Nevertheless, the young girl started eating the meal and finished it quite swiftly. Without saying a word she stood up and deposited her dish into the sink. On her way back to her room, she made sure to bump into Shinji's chair making him spill his food all over himself. The redhead continued on to her room as if nothing had happened, leaving the male eva pilot utterly confused.

The young boy just ate his meal slowly in silence, without the presence of another person in the room his face showed his irritation. Today he was having a particularly bad day; he had gotten low grades at school, was singled out by the teacher for messaging Touji in class and had forgotten to bring his lunch to school leaving him starving for half the day. Added to this, Asuka was behaving much worse than usual towards him. Shinji knew Asuka was selfish and didn't care much about him, but did she have to go out of her way to make sure he suffered?

'I wish someone would stand up to her, at least once. She really needs to be thrown off her pedestal' he thought. After finishing his meal, the young boy put his plate in the sink and proceeded to wash the dishes. He tried to relax as he washed the dishes, the warm water only improving his mood slightly. However it would seem he wasn't off the hook yet. Just as he had finished cleaning the dishes, Asuka came back into the room and gave Shinji a punch on the shoulder.

"I'm bored," she stated.

'Uh-oh not that word' Shinji thought remembering the last time she had said it.

"Well ummm…are you sure you want to…?" he said blushing.

"Jeez you perverted hentai, as if I would EVER do anything like _that_ with you again. No you loser, I was just wondering if you were doing anything or had any ideas on what to do"

Shinji's forehead creased. Was she just making fun of him to pass the time? Deciding he better reply the young boy turned his attention to the redhead.

"No I don't have anything to do at the moment, the house is cleaned, the dishes are washed and the laundry done, perhaps we could-"

"Such a boring little boy…" she remarked, interrupting him.

Shinji's hand clenched. _She_ had been the one who asked him if he was free, what was her damn problem?

"What the hell do you want Asuka?" he asked raising his voice a little.

"Oh are you getting angry? I thought good little Shinji was such a kind and forgiving person, where's your sorry?" she said goading him.

His neck tightened. "Seriously Asuka, could you just-" he started.

"Go to hell! Stop with the act already! You are just like your damn father, manipulating everyone else, especially Misato. You make her give you special treatment just by trying to be a good little boy all the time. I'm sick of everyone praising you and your high sync ratio, you are just a piece of trash!" Asuka shouted angrily.

Something inside Shinji just snapped, he hated his father and she hit low comparing him to that despicable creature. He smashed the plate that he had just cleaned on the bench top. The redhead jumped in surprise at the loud noise and looked up at the boy hesitantly.

"Alright Asuka fine, I'll drop my 'act,' just like you want me to" he said looking at her detestably.

The redhead didn't respond a little shocked at his behaviour.

"I am just a perverted hentai right? Just a stupid perverted baka, yeah? Well Asuka, allow me to show you how I should be behaving" he said as he started to move towards her.

Asuka was definitely a little scared, though she didn't show it. She had never seen Shinji act this way and started to back away. Unfortunately for her, she hadn't noticed where she was heading. Shinji pressed onwards until the redhead was backed up against the wall, almost causing Asuka to lose her calm.

"Are you scared Asuka? Scared of good little Shinji?" he said sarcastically.

"Don't you dare come near me!" she warned.

"Or what? You're gonna hit me?" he said smirking slightly.

Asuka raised her hand to strike the boy only to have her arm caught. Using the opportunity Shinji ripped off her shirt, tearing the fabric and revealing Asuka's bra.

"What the fuck are you doing?" she screamed trying to fend him off with her other arm, only to get it trapped as well.

**[skip]**

The young girl resisted him, kicking him and trying her best to escape his grip, but he was too strong and had her pinned to the wall, making her powerless. Her legs were trapped between the wall and his body as he forced all his weight onto her.

"Let me go, you sick bastard" she demanded.

"No I don't think I will, I rather like it like this" he replied.

Moving her arms above her head, he held them both with one hand, freeing the other. The young boy then placed his free hand over her bra, roughly fondling her breast through the material. The redhead struggled against him even more, wiggling and squirming under his hold. 'How can this be happening to me?' she thought.

"If you don't stop this, you'll regret it," Asuka said venomously.

"I thought you wanted me to stop pretending? I thought you wanted me to have a backbone? Don't all perverted bakas act like this? Besides what are you gonna do about it?" he said mockingly.

She started to panic; he really wasn't going to stop. Shinji saw the look of panic on Asuka's face and smiled slightly, glad that she was finally understanding what it felt like to have someone treat you like shit. Shinji wasted no time and quickly unhooked her bra from the back, letting it fall to the ground, exposing her luscious breasts and making Asuka gasp.

"Shinji, think about this, you don't know what you're doing," she said desperately.

He just laughed. "Oh I know exactly what I'm doing, I'm standing up to you Asuka. I just couldn't stand your bullshit anymore" Shinji replied.

"Baka! There are other ways to stand up to me, you can't do this!" she replied frantically.

"I don't think anything else would work on you Asuka" he retorted.

"I swear to god you won't get away with this!" she shouted at him.

"Just shut up and let me continue," he said growing tired of her antics.

The redhead opened her mouth to say something, but let out a squeal instead as Shinji pinched her exposed nipple. She blushed embarrassed as Shinji just laughed.

"Oh I will enjoy this…" he said eagerly.

"No stop, please…" she pleaded.

"Oh now you're acting nice? It's too late Asuka," he said with finality.

With that, Shinji started fondling her breast with one hand and sucking her other nipple with his mouth. Surprised at the contact Asuka let out a moan, but quickly suppressed it. The male eva pilot was driving her mad, sucking her nipple and then sliding his tongue around it in circles. The young girl couldn't believe she was being defiled like this in her own residence, by her roommate and there was no one there to help her. No matter how much she struggled he just continued on without hesitance.

"Stop violating me you freak!" Asuka shouted, disgusted at being able to feel his saliva all over one of her most prized assets.

In reply Shinji rubbed her nipple in between his thumb and index finger, silencing her protests once again. What annoyed Asuka the most was that it felt good; she could even feel herself getting wet with Shinji's actions. But there was no way she would give in to him, there was no way she would admit this felt pleasurable. The young girl bit down on her tongue so she could only feel the pain and keep herself from moaning.

However the young boy started to move his hand down her body, replacing it with his mouth as he moved it onto her other nipple, which was all erect and just screaming for attention. Asuka could not help letting out a gasp as his mouth engulfed her other sensitive bud.

"Hmmmm you're enjoying this…" he remarked.

"The hell I am!" she refuted.

"Well I'll just see for myself" he replied smirking.

"What are you talking about…?" she asked confused.

The young boy slipped his roaming hand under her skirt and rubbed her pussy through her panties.

"Gahh what are you doing?" she gasped.

"What does it look like?"

The redhead couldn't take it; this boy was freely touching her most private region. Asuka squirmed and struggled even more as he continued the forbidden contact and managed to free her leg. However this proved to be a wrong move on her part as Shinji grabbed her leg and forced it to stay up with his hip. In effect the redhead had just given him easier access to her vagina. Shinji wasted no time in rubbing her moist panties once again, causing Asuka to squirm again in anguish.

"Thanks Asuka, I didn't think you would participate, but you've definitely made it a lot easier for me" Shinji said mockingly.

"Stop this! I want you to get your filthy hands off of me!" she shrieked.

"Your wet panties suggest otherwise Asuka" he replied.

"Get fucked you mmphh-" she said, getting cut off by Shinji's mouth.

The young boy had gotten irritated with her constant bickering and had decided to just silence her with a kiss. The redhead looked at him shocked, but soon found herself fighting against him once more. The young girl made a displeased grunt as he pushed his lips onto hers roughly and she tried to pull away. At this Shinji just deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue into her mouth. Outraged at the intruder in her mouth, she brought down her teeth on the offending muscle, causing Shinji to quickly pull away.

"How dare you! Don't ever do that again!" Asuka yelled, spitting on him.

"Damn it you bitch, you almost bit my tongue off," he said angrily.

"Serves you right, you asshole!" she shouted at him.

"But I was just bored Asuka" he replied cruelly.

"Get lost you prick!"

Shinji was getting tired of her insults and just kissed her again. The young girl struggled yet again as he forced his lips onto hers, going as far as trying to head butt the young boy. Shinji continued his ministrations down below, much to Asuka's dismay. Growing tired of teasing her, he slipped his finger into her panties and started to caress her outer folds. He felt her whole body shake with the contact. The young boy could hear her muffled cries of anguish as his finger stroked her private region. Deciding to let her breathe he parted from her lips.

"Stop it! You are never meant to touch me there!" Asuka shouted, finding it hard to concentrate.

Shinji just smiled and pushed his finger into her wet pussy, making her cry out. Her erotic moan sent a shiver down the young boy's spine, just making him more determined.

"No…No! Remove your finger…Oh God…" she said struggling to move away, but to no avail, she was trapped between him and the wall and he had easy access to her lower region.

The male eva pilot started moving his finger in and out of her, causing the redhead to let out little erotic noises as she tried her best to halt his finger's movement. Much to her distress Shinji added a second finger and began thrusting a little harder into her nether region.

"Fucking hell! S-Stop it Shinji…please!" she managed to say.

"Your cunt is leaking non-stop, obviously it wants me to continue" Shinji replied smirking.

"Fuck off you disgusting pervert!" she shouted with effort.

'Wow she doesn't give up, I guess I'll just have to break her,' Shinji thought.

Shinji used his thumb to rub her clitoris vigorously while he thrust into her with his fingers. The redhead cried out in pleasure unable to hold it back. She tried closing her legs or shaking her arms free, as she was unable to take it.

"Nnnnn…No! Stop!" she barely managed to say.

"I don't think I will" Shinji replied.

Asuka was growing weaker and weaker as he continued to attack her vagina relentlessly. The young girl was also on the verge of climaxing and Shinji knew it. The young boy rubbed her clitoris as hard as he could and Asuka screamed as she orgasmed for the first time in her life. Her pussy drenched Shinji's hand in her cum and she started panting heavily, exhausted from the struggle and the orgasm. Sweat covered both teens' bodies.

"That was one hell of a scream there Asuka" Shinji commented.

"Just shut up and leave me alone…you've already defiled me" she replied out of breath.

"Leave you alone? No I was only just beginning…" he replied back.

She groaned. "Why me?"

Shinji then moved off her, letting her leg back down. The young boy then proceeded to remove her soaked panties, finding it slightly difficult, as the redhead had not given up yet. The male eva pilot still had both her arms trapped, but she could move her legs freely and she began kicking and wiggling around, trying to free herself. Throwing her onto the floor, he then used the opportunity to completely remove them and quickly got on top of her in case she decided to get away. Still having one hand free he unbuckled his pants and slipped them off together with his boxers, freeing his erection. Asuka just stared in revulsion.

"Mein Gott! You can't do that to me, you just can't. Oh God I don't deserve this" she said panicking.

"You don't deserve this? Ha, well you sure think highly of yourself. All you do in life is make those around you suffer, period. I'll show you what it feels like" he replied angrily.

"No…" she pleaded.

"It's too late for that now, I already told you"

With that he moved to position his huge, stiff rod. Asuka looked away, unable to watch as she struggled feebly to get away. It was futile really, all his weight was on her and he had her arms pinned. Shinji positioned his cock at the entrance to her pussy and she gasped as she felt his cock make contact with her sensitive skin. The young boy paused and looked at Asuka momentarily, noticing how she was still resisting him. He considered stopping this, but another part of him wanted to finish what he started.

'I heard it hurts for a woman the first time, I'll be gentle at least, after all she did at least plead with me' he thought. Shinji then gently pressed forward into her eliciting a surprised grunt from her.

"W-wait! Wait!" she said panicking

Shinji ignored her and pushed in, going a little deeper.

"Ahhh" she let out, his cock was hurting her. He slowed down a bit, pulling out and pushing back in a little more each time, allowing her to get used to his cock.

"You're taking my virginity you dickhead…" Asuka said croakily.

"You're taking mine too" he replied half-smiling.

The redhead just spat on him with disgust and the young boy continued on. By now Shinji had slipped his whole cock inside her, painfully stretching her open. He looked at Asuka, her face contorted with pain.

"God stop it hurts, you're too god damn big" she exclaimed.

"I thought it was better if it was bigger" he replied smugly.

Shinji then started to push in and out of her, slowly at first, but then he started to increase speed. Asuka's reaction was more struggling, but she could not close her legs as his cock sank into her. The young boy felt thrilled, as his cock was in heaven. Her vagina was so tight as well as hot and wet.

"Ahhhh…Ahhh" she cried out in pain. The redhead found herself unable to suppress any noises anymore as his cock repeatedly thrust into her pussy.

Though Shinji could see that slowly, Asuka was getting used to his cock and instead of crying out in pain began to cry out in pleasure.

"Oh God…Oh God…mmmmm…God"

Every time Asuka moaned it made Shinji twitch. It deeply aroused him that he was making her feel good. The young boy started to pick up his speed and her moans grew louder. The male eva pilot could feel he was close already.

"Fuck you Shinji…fuck…you! I'm gonna fucken cum…you fucking asshole!" Asuka shouted in helplessness.

Shinji just renewed his efforts, using his free hand to fondle her breasts and grunting in exertion as he fucked her. Asuka came first, letting out a loud scream. Her inner walls closed around the young boy's cock and she dug her nails into his back as she orgasmed. The young boy wondered when he had released her arms, but shrugged it off. With all this Shinji burst inside her, releasing his warm sticky semen, after which he collapsed on top of her panting. Heavy perspiration covered both teens.

"Whoa…" said Shinji, his head still spinning from the experience.

"I can't believe you Shinji, you deflowered me, I'll never be a virgin again" Asuka spat angrily.

"You deserved it you bitch, so stop complaining" Shinji replied.

"You damn psycho, don't ever come near me again," Asuka said shoving him off of her.

The young boy wanted nothing more than to jump onto her and fuck her all over again. However she winced in pain as she moved to get up and Shinji realised she must be extremely sore. His anger dissipated and his resolve diminished, he decided to leave her alone for now.

Shinji got up, unable to believe what had just happened. Did he really do that to her? Since when did he ever do something so unlike him? Even now, despite him seeing Asuka laying on the floor, her cunt wide open and his cock covered in her secretions, it still felt so unreal. The young boy's eyes moved down to her vagina once again and he noticed how red her pussy was; it seemed he really went rough on her at the end. Then Shinji noticed blood on her thighs and his eyes widened in concern.

"Hey Asuka, are you ok? There's blood on your legs, how did that happen?" he asked a little worried.

The redhead just looked up at him with contempt. "Are you making fun of me? Do you want me to say 'you raped me' so badly?" Asuka replied.

"No I'm serious, there's blood and-" Shinji started.

"Of course there's blood, I was a virgin or did you forget?" Asuka said scornfully.

The young boy stayed silent, the impact of his actions was slowly starting to hit him. The young girl stood up unsteadily and pulled her panties back up, not wanting to show him her defiled vagina anymore. Shinji picked up her bra and handed it to Asuka, who grabbed it off him. The young girl then put her bra back on, a little glad that she wasn't exposed anymore. Shinji realised he still had his pants down and pulled them back up, covering up his member once again. The young boy looked back at Asuka who was just glaring at him with loathing.

"Are you happy now Shinji? Are you glad you made me suffer? Did it make you feel better?" Asuka said angrily.

Truth be told, Shinji had felt great satisfaction at first, but now that it was over, he felt absolutely terrible. It made him think that maybe Asuka wasn't really getting enjoyment out of making him suffer either.

"I was just…I…" he closed his mouth unable to say anything. He knew nothing he said could justify what he did anyway.

The young girl turned her head away, unable to look at the boy anymore. Shinji couldn't help noticing Asuka's current state. When he looked at her he could see she was still red and sweating from the passion before and her skirt and panties were absolutely dripping wet. Asuka's beautiful red hair was all frizzled and her shirt lay ripped on the floor. The young boy went down and picked up the torn fabric.

"I think it would be a good idea for you to clean yourself up Asuka" Shinji suggested.

"Why? Want to hide the evidence?" she snapped at him.

"No, just look at yourself" he said timidly.

**[skip end]**

Asuka looked at herself and saw she did look disastrous, she was shocked to see how soaked her clothing was. She let out a string of German curses at the boy, before turning around and walking off to her room. After a couple minutes of rustling she came back out with new clothes, went to the shower and slammed the door. The sound resonated throughout the suddenly quiet apartment. Shinji looked at his hands, still unable to come to terms with what he had done. He had used these hands to hold her down and violate her. How could he possibly get so angry to go that far?

The young boy snapped out of his daze and looked at himself, noticing that he too was in need of a shower. The male eva pilot deposited the torn shirt into the wastebasket before going to his room, getting some clean clothes ready and laying down on his bed waiting for Asuka to finish.

* * *

'Damn it! How could this happen?' the redhead thought.

Asuka had entered the bathroom, stripping out of her dirty clothes with disgust and proceeded to have a shower immediately. She felt a little better as she felt the hot water run over her body, cleaning her of the taint Shinji had left on her. The young girl made sure to wash herself thoroughly, not wanting anything of the incident to remain.

'How could he? How could he do this to me? How pathetic I must be to not have been able to stop him…why do the bad things always happen to me?' Asuka thought angrily.

The young girl beat her fists against the shower panel, unable to believe what she had just endured.

'He damn took one of my most valuable assets without hesitation…since when did the Invincible Shinji become my enemy instead of my saviour…?"

The young girl shook the last thought out of her head, not wanting to think about it anymore. Asuka wanted to make him pay, but she felt so weak now. She couldn't tell Misato about this; it was far too embarrassing and her pride had suffered enough. What annoyed her the most though was, that at the end her body had finally given in to him. The redhead made an annoyed noise before turning off the water and exiting the shower. Asuka then proceeded to dry herself before changing into her new clothes and then exiting the bathroom.

* * *

After about half an hour of waiting, Asuka finally came out of the bathroom. Shinji picked up his clothes and exited his room, just noticing Asuka walking into her room and slamming the door shut. The young boy sighed, having had time to think to himself made him feel worse. Shinji knew what he had done was wrong, but he couldn't stop himself at the time. After the deed, he had hoped that he had at least broken her barrier, but he was mistaken; if anything it was stronger.

The young boy entered the bathroom and took a shower. He noticed all the hot water was gone, but he didn't mind having a cold shower at the moment. After the shower he dried himself up and put on his new clothes. The male eva pilot then exited the bathroom and looked at the clock, noticing it was getting late. 'How much time passed? Did it really go by that fast?' he thought.

The young boy decided to make supper and went into the kitchen to start. Shinji briefly wondered when Misato would get home before he started making the meal. Preparing the food momentarily took his mind off the current situation and put him slightly more at ease. He really didn't know how to deal with what had happened or what Asuka would do.

As he was making supper the front door opened and in entered Misato. The Major was completely unaware of what had just happened in this household as she walked towards the living room.

"I'm home," Misato cried out.

"Welcome home Misato" Shinji replied.

The purple haired woman went to the kitchen and poked her head inside to see Shinji working on their supper.

"Mmmm what smells so nice?" Misato asked, a blissful smile on her face. She had been looking forward to Shinji's home cooked meal all day.

"I'm making supper," Shinji answered. The young boy was a little nervous with her presence, he was afraid of what would happen when Misato found out what had taken place.

The Major turned her head around and found the other roommate nowhere in sight. "Where's Asuka?" she asked turning to face Shinji again.

"She's in her room," he said hesitantly.

"Oh?" Misato said curiously.

"Don't worry about her Misato, supper's almost ready anyways" Shinji said quickly. The young boy had no idea what state Asuka was in and didn't think she wanted to be disturbed.

"Well I'm sure food will cheer her up! I'll tell her supper's ready for you" Misato said happily.

"There's really no need-" Shinji started.

"Asuka! Supper's ready!" she shouted.

It only took a moment for the redhead to reply. "Leave me alone!" Asuka shouted in return.

"There you see, Misato let's just-" Shinji began.

"Come on Asuka. Are you sure you're not hungry?" Misato shouted back at the redhead, cutting off Shinji.

"Oh fine whatever, if it'll make you shut up I'll eat" Asuka answered angrily.

They could hear the young girl cursing and mumbling as her door opened. The female eva pilot came into the dining room and sat down, ignoring both of them. As she had just taken a shower, she looked completely clean, her red hair shimmering in the light; there was no way their guardian could tell what had happened. Misato went and sat down next to the redhead as she waited for supper to be finished. The young girl made an annoyed noise but didn't move or say anything. The Major could see that Asuka was definitely in a bad mood.

Before she could say anything, Shinji came into the dining room with their meal and set it down on the table. He quickly moved to the opposite side of the table and sat down.

"Let's eat" Shinji said weakly.

"Stop acting so timidly you two-faced son of a bitch!" Asuka shouted angrily.

"Whoa calm down Asuka" Misato said, surprised at her outburst.

Shinji on the other hand just avoided the redhead's gaze and began to eat. The young girl noticed his actions and just grew more infuriated. She stood up from her chair abruptly and picked up her meal, ready to throw it at him. The purple haired woman moved in to stop her.

"What's wrong Asuka?" Misato asked a little concerned with her behaviour.

Asuka turned to face Misato. "Shinji's a sick bastard who won't leave this house!" she answered.

Misato sighed. Asuka was just in another one of her moods, being angry with Shinji like she always was. She supposed being in the same house would grow annoying after a while and decided she would just let it blow over. The Major wondered if they would ever behave nice to each other.

"Asuka, I know you don't like Shinji, but I don't wanna deal with this now. Just eat ok?" Misato said tiredly.

Asuka sat back down without another word and began eating her meal. Misato watched the two teens as they both avoided each other's gaze. The silence was unnerving as no one said a word. Deciding she wanted to find out what had happened between the two, Misato broke the unfriendly silence.

"So umm…what did you guys do today?" she asked tentatively.

"Nothing" they both replied in unison, remnant of their sync training.

Both teens returned to their meal in silence. It was obvious to Misato she would get nothing from them today. Shinji was slightly relieved that Asuka was not going to announce what had happened.

When Asuka finished her meal, she went straight to her room, not even bothering to put her dirty dish in the sink. Misato finished next, standing up and depositing her and Asuka's plate into the sink. The Major went for the fridge, took out a beer and gulped it down. As it was pretty late Misato decided she would go to sleep, leaving the young boy alone in the dining room. Soon Shinji had finished his meal and he went back into the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Suddenly the house seemed extremely quiet. As Misato had switched off all the lights except for the kitchen and dining room when she went to sleep, it seemed Shinji was surrounded by darkness. The hot water from the tap did little to relax him as he washed the dishes. Finishing up, the boy then proceeded to switch off the lights and go to his room. As the house was plunged into darkness, the boy felt a little uneasy as he made his way to his bedroom.

Entering his room he went straight to his bed, wanting nothing more than to go to sleep and forget what had happened. As much as he tried, the young boy could not fall asleep. Shinji felt guilty, the real impact of what he had just done had finally settled in; he really had gone too far. He couldn't help constantly tossing and turning in his bed; he felt so restless. Deciding he wouldn't get to sleep for a while, the young boy got out of bed.

The only thing that could put him at ease would be paying Asuka a visit and as such he crept out of his room, so as not to wake Misato, and sneaked to her door. Shinji didn't dare knock as he slipped open her door and went inside. Closing the door behind him, he looked at Asuka's bed. Shinji could see she was awake, but she hadn't noticed him come in. He walked across the room and sat down on the edge of her bed. At this she looked up and saw him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she hissed.

"I came to say sor-" he started.

"What? You are so unbelievable! What does saying sorry do now? Nothing can fix what you've done!" Asuka said her voice rising a little.

"But…" Shinji said frantically.

"Will you just shut up and get out of here! I would have preferred you coming in here to rape me again than to listen to this!" she blurted out.

"But Asuka, I just got so angry, I really didn't mean to do it, I just lost control" Shinji said tears threatening to run down his cheek.

"I can't believe how pathetic you are! Take responsibility for your actions!" she said turning away from him.

Asuka noticed he had reverted to his old self again. She thought that maybe her rape would have at _least_ given him a spine or some confidence, but it benefited neither side. It pissed her off that he was trying to make it seem like it wasn't his fault. But what annoyed her even more was that during the ordeal, he was in power, wasn't stumbling over words or saying sorry and now he was behaving like a crybaby.

Shinji himself didn't know what to think or do. He noticed a slight disappointment on her face before she covered it with her mask again. It was like she couldn't believe he was behaving like this after doing what he did. 'She's right' he thought 'I need to take responsibility for my actions, I can't just say sorry for this. No matter what she did it was my fault'

Deciding on a course of action the male eva pilot grabbed the redhead and pressed her flat on her back. Surprised, the young girl looked up at him quizzically. Though she didn't really notice it, she was getting a little excited. The young boy could smell the soap and shampoo on Asuka and her scent intoxicated him. Shinji went and reached under her skirt, pulling her panties down.

"What are you doing?" she gasped. "I wasn't being entirely serious before"

"I'm just taking responsibility for my actions," he said simply.

Asuka didn't know why but she felt like smiling, however she forced herself not to, keeping a scowl on her face. Shinji brought his mouth down onto her lower lips and started licking up and down her slit; after Asuka's shower her vagina was cleaned of all previous actions. After being raped the redhead couldn't understand why her body didn't flinch or resist Shinji's actions.

The young girl moaned as he continued his actions; it felt surprisingly pleasant. The redhead didn't really see a point in suppressing her noises, technically she had sorta asked for this. The young boy took this as a sign to continue and begun playfully circling his tongue around her vagina lips, eliciting more moans from the redhead. Shinji could see she was getting very wet and decided to slip his tongue inside.

"God" she cried.

"Shhhhh, Misato's asleep" he whispered.

Asuka just looked up at him with a glare. Ignoring it the young boy continued, darting his tongue in and out of her, exploring her insides and licking her sensitive areas. The young girl was getting closer and closer to the edge quite fast. Noticing this he stopped, giving himself a break. Asuka looked down at him questioningly, wondering why he had stopped. After waiting for a few minutes till she relaxed, he started again and Asuka just shrugged it off.

However just before she was about to cum, he stopped again, waited and started again. Now the redhead was growing irritated; he was doing it on purpose.

"Shinji" she said in frustration.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"You know precisely what," she warned.

"No I really don't" he replied cheekily.

There was no way Asuka was going to beg him to make her cum and so she remained silent. The young boy continued denying her the orgasm and could see her growing more and more frustrated. Deciding he would stop torturing her, he moved his mouth over her swollen clit, attacking it relentlessly. The young girl cried out in pleasure as he sucked and licked her sensitive bud, driving her mad.

The redhead finally screamed in orgasm, which she muffled with her pillow. The young boy quickly drank her juices as she cummed into his face. Her cum tasted nice and sweet and so he made sure to lick up as much of it as he could. Asuka came down from her climax, sweating and panting. She couldn't believe that it had felt so good. As the young boy moved to start again, the redhead kicked him away.

"No more" she said sternly.

"Mmmm you sure taste nice Asuka" Shinji commented.

She just remained silent, why would she care?

"Wanna taste me Asuka?" he asked smugly.

"Why the fuck would I? You're being too bold Shinji" she said irritated.

However Shinji had already slipped his pants and boxers off, bringing his cock to her face.

"No way! That's something I will never do!" she replied stubbornly, moving her hands in front of her face.

"Come on Asuka, I gave you oral sex, shouldn't you do the same favour for me?" Shinji asked.

"No I shouldn't! Besides I didn't tell you to give me oral sex now did I?" she replied.

"Come on Asuka, please open your mouth," he pleaded.

"I will not!" she said with finality.

The young boy sighed. He knew he should probably just go back to his room now, but he really wanted to know what it felt like. What he was doing now was probably only compounding the problem, but after doing it once it wasn't as hard now. Deciding he might as well try, Shinji reached his hands under her shirt and started tickling her ribs.

"Damn it! You can't do that," Asuka said threatening to laugh.

"Oh yes I can" Shinji said grinning slightly.

The young girl tried to fend off his hands as he tickled her, however inevitably she let out a laugh from the tickling and he shoved his cock into her mouth while it was open. The redhead just glared at him, wanting nothing more than to sink her teeth into him. Shinji wasted no time and started to move his cock in and out of her mouth. He groaned in pleasure as her warm mouth enclosed his cock.

"Asuka please, can you not just sit there and do nothing, at least suck it or use your tongue" Shinji said insistently.

The redhead replied, saying something muffled by his cock he couldn't decipher.

"My cock stays in your mouth till morning if you don't" he advised.

Asuka didn't think he could keep his cock erect till morning, but didn't really see a point in resisting anymore. He had already done so many things to her it just didn't matter anymore. Relenting, the young girl began sucking his cock and sliding her tongue along the underside. At this the young boy groaned in pleasure again.

"Good girl" he said while patting her head.

Shinji could feel a burning sensation and was surprised that he was already so close to cumming. "I'm very close Asuka, get ready," he announced.

The redhead looked up at him and glared as acknowledgement. Unable to hold it in any longer, Shinji released his seed inside her. Asuka gagged, a bit surprised at the amount. Knowing she would choke, she forced herself to swallow his semen. The young boy then removed his cock from her mouth.

"That felt real good Asuka, how did I taste?" he asked.

"Revolting!" she answered instantly.

At this he smirked a little and got off of her. "Well goodnight Asuka" he whispered.

"Goodnight!" she hissed back.

The male eva pilot stood up from her bed and pulled his pants back up. After that he walked out of her room and snuck back into his own room. Shinji was a little bewildered at how events had transpired, but he felt a lot better now and got to sleep with much less difficulty.

* * *

Back in Asuka's room, a war waged inside the young girl's head. It seemed Shinji had lost his spineless wimpy attitude again and she couldn't say she disliked it. It was good that he had stopped whining, but still he didn't deserve to have her. However he _had_ relieved much of her sexual frustration and besides it was only Shinji and no one would find out.

The redhead supposed she could use him a little bit; after all she couldn't change what had happened so she might as well use it to her advantage. Although she didn't really like the fact that he had taken her virginity and forced her to suck his cock, it felt better than listening to his constant babble and watching his good boy act. Almost all of her was screaming at her to make Shinji pay, but she supposed using him would serve as good enough retribution. Asuka silenced the war in her head and went to sleep.

* * *

End notes: Sorry for the first chapter being so dark, I needed this to happen for the rest of the story to progress. I assure you this will be the only rape scene. All of you put off by this chapter please at least read the next one and see how far you get. Nothing like this happens again.

Chapter Summary: After Shinji snaps at Asuka, he proceeds to rape her. After taking her virginity he feels deep regret for what he had done and Asuka is extremely furious at him. Misato arrives back home, but both Shinji and Asuka had already had a shower and so Misato doesn't know what happened. During supper Misato tries to find out what happened as she notices their behaviour but is unsuccessful. As Asuka and Misato leave Shinji is left alone. Shinji cannot get to sleep because he feels guilty and so goes and visits Asuka. There he gives Asuka oral sex and she returns it, after which Asuka plans to use the situation to her advantage.


	2. Back to School

Author's Notes: Here's the second chapter, this contains lemons as well.

A note to say this is the rewritten chapter 2.

* * *

Chapter 2: Back to school

It was early in the morning when Shinji awoke. Opening his eyes slowly, he wondered why he had woken up so early considering how late he had gone to bed. His eyes widened as he suddenly remembered what had just happened yesterday. Thinking over the events, the young boy couldn't help but feel disgusted at himself. Shinji knew Asuka must have suffered greatly and he could see she had been extremely distraught after he had finished. However, she hadn't killed him or told Misato what had happened and that confused him.

Logically thinking about it, he should be in prison by now. Yet the redhead had not turned him in and later when he visited her, she did not resist him. The only explanation in Shinji's mind was that the event had been too traumatic for her and had just destroyed her pride; after all a girl like her being raped by a pathetic boy like him would definitely affect her pride. As much as he wanted to, he could not change the past and he hoped that Asuka would return to her normal self. Perhaps he should make it up to her somehow.

The male eva pilot stretched and got out of his bed slowly. After getting up, he walked over to the door and exited his room. The young boy decided he might as well start making breakfast while it was this early; the other two roommates were still asleep after all. Moving into the kitchen, Shinji took out the abysmal amount of food that was left in the fridge and began preparing the morning meal. He made a note to himself to buy more food when he had the chance or at least get Asuka or Misato to do it, although he would rather Misato didn't.

The temperature in the room was already quite warm and Shinji suspected that today was going to be a hot day. A few stray beams of light pierced the blinds on the windows, lighting up the otherwise dark environment. Stopping what he was doing the young boy moved over to the windows and fully opened the blinds, causing light to pour into the residence. He then returned to the task at hand, making sure to be as quiet as possible.

The young boy's solace was short-lived as a bleary eyed Misato walked into the kitchen, noticed Shinji and sat down at the dining table. The young boy turned to face the purple haired woman.

"Sorry Misato did I wake you?" Shinji asked quietly.

Misato opened her mouth a couple of times attempting to form words. "No I had to get up early for work" she finally croaked out.

The Major was shocked at hearing her own voice and stood up from the table. Moving over to the fridge she opened it and grabbed a can of beer. Emptying its contents at an inhuman speed she let out her usual "Yeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhhhh" and then sat back down at the dining table. The young boy just shook his head and continued making breakfast.

As Shinji finished making the meal he turned his head to check on Misato and noticed Asuka walking in, also looking half dead. Instantly the male eva pilot felt tense as he looked at the redhead and decided to make sure she wasn't angry.

"Did we wake you Asuka?" he asked.

The young girl paused momentarily before shaking her head and sitting down. Shinji noticed that the redhead was avoiding his gaze and she seemed surprisingly docile. However the young boy knew Asuka hated waiting and as he had already finished making the breakfast he moved to put the prepared dishes down on the table. At once both girls began eating ravenously and Shinji sat down to eat as well.

Despite the fact that the food he had cooked today was pretty shoddy, as there wasn't anything left in the fridge, the redhead made absolutely no complaint about the quality of the meal. Shinji was completely surprised as he had been constantly hearing how bad his cooking was for a few months, yet when it actually was bad she said nothing; although he suspected it was because of yesterday. It didn't take long for Asuka to finish as she got up, put her plate in the sink and went off to the shower.

The redhead had left Shinji and Misato alone together again, just like yesterday. Having had her beer, the Major had also noticed the redhead's unusual behaviour. Adding this morning to yesterday's behaviour Misato was sure something had happened yesterday and resolved to find it out from Shinji as he was the easier of the two. As soon as the purple haired woman finished eating, she cleared her throat.

"So…" Misato started, "mind telling me what happened between you two yesterday?"

The young boy almost choked on his food, but swallowed it just in time. Fortunately Misato hadn't noticed his slipup. 'God damn it' Shinji thought 'how does she know something happened yesterday? Stupid guardian always knows everything.' The young boy stopped what he was doing and looked up at his guardian. Despite him feeling extremely guilty for what he had done, he couldn't bring himself to tell Misato what had happened, but he knew he had to say something.

"We told you, nothing happened" Shinji answered.

"Don't treat me like I'm stupid Shinji, you two have been acting strangely ever since I got back yesterday. Asuka was completely enraged at you yesterday and this morning she's the exact opposite. As your guardian I am entitled to know what happened. If it's because Asuka is preventing you from talking don't worry, I won't tell her you told me" Misato said determinedly.

'Well I guess nothing goes unnoticed by a tactical operations director. However I'm the one who is guilty, not Asuka' Shinji thought, a little annoyed for Asuka's sake.

"So what? You think that something's wrong because she didn't insult or complain about me? Is that all you think of Asuka? I'm sure she doesn't behave like a grouch all the time" Shinji replied.

Misato looked at him shocked, whether he noticed or not, he had just defended her. However the young boy had made the Major feel a little guilty that she made it sound like Asuka was supposed to annoy Shinji in the morning. The purple haired woman chose to ignore the incident this time, perhaps they were getting along better, besides she didn't have enough time to interrogate them. Funnily enough Misato didn't realise the irony of her own thinking; just yesterday she thought they'd never get along. It never once crossed Misato's mind that Shinji was the culpable one.

"Fine fine you have a point, but Shinji if there is a problem don't be afraid to discuss it with me" Misato said earnestly.

"Yes Misato" Shinji answered.

"Well I need to go to Nerv now, oh and by the way you have a sync test tomorrow" Misato informed.

"Another one?" he whined.

"Yes and you're going. No excuses!" Misato said with finality.

With that the Major stood up and left the table. After saying goodbye and waving Shinji off, Misato had exited the apartment. The young boy sighed in relief in having avoided an unwanted confrontation. He set his concentration back onto his breakfast as it was still unfinished.

However Shinji couldn't relax just yet as Asuka had walked out of the shower and headed to the dining room. The redhead looked around, unable to see the Major.

"Is Misato already…gone?" Asuka asked a little uneasy.

"Yeah" Shinji answered.

"Jeez I don't want to be left alone with _you!_" Asuka said irritated, turning around.

"Misato said we have a sync test tomorrow" he added just as she started moving.

Asuka stopped. "Well at least I'll finally be able to prove my piloting ability is still superior" she said nastily, looking back at him.

Shinji finally noticed Asuka's current state. Her fiery red hair was all silky smooth from the shower, her skin gleamed and she was only wearing a towel; she was darn gorgeous. Looking at her scowling face, the young boy felt an irresistible urge to kiss her; perhaps he wanted to relieve his guilt by covering it up? Besides she wouldn't stop him.

The male eva pilot stood up and moved over to the redhead, surprising her a little. However Asuka did not move, not wanting to show any weakness. Shinji made no hesitation in bringing his lips down onto hers and wrapping his arms around her waist, shocking Asuka for a few seconds.

Pushing him away, the redhead spoke up. "Just what are you doing? Don't do things like that without my permission!" she said moving away.

However the young boy strengthened his hold on her and began to stroke her hair with his other hand. Her hair was still wet and her skin was nice and soft. The redhead shivered a little as he handled her.

"You really are the most beautiful girl" he said complimenting her.

"Flattery won't get you anywhere so stop touching me already! You've already done way more than I'd _ever_ let you do to me!" she said raising her voice.

"But how can I resist the most beautiful girl in the world?" Shinji said playfully.

"Don't make it sound so trivial!" Asuka said angrily.

"Asuka I didn't mean it like that-" he started.

"I don't care! You're acting way too indifferent considering what happened. So just forget about yesterday or I'll tell Misato how her good little Shinji raped me" she threatened.

The young boy felt a little annoyed. She did have a point that it seemed he didn't care about yesterday, but he was just trying to cheer her up a little by not discussing it.

"You won't tell Misato about this, you're too embarrassed" Shinji blurted out. The young boy mentally slapped himself, it was not a good idea to provoke Asuka; he truly didn't want Misato to know.

However the young girl didn't respond but looked away; she had been bluffing. Again as Shinji looked down at the redhead who had averted her gaze, he felt an overwhelming urge to kiss her; had yesterday's event unlocked some hidden feelings inside him?

Shinji turned her head to face him with his hand and moved his face towards hers, bringing their lips together once more. Putting his arms around her waist again, he pulled her closer to him. Asuka's lips quivered a little as she wondered what he was going to do to her. She hated that she found herself unable to stop him, though perhaps it was better this way as she didn't have to take responsibility for his actions. As such the redhead did not resist his efforts.

Sudden comprehension of his actions caused the young boy to stop what he was doing. Just this morning he was feeling disgusted at himself, he wasn't going to now use her destroyed pride to his advantage. Shinji couldn't understand what was coming over him.

Looking at his watch he came up with an excuse for him stopping. "There isn't much time left before school and coming late will just be troublesome so go get ready for school" Shinji said trying to sound disappointed.

Asuka didn't want to make it seem like she had wanted him to continue. "Yeah I don't know how much longer I could stand that" she said before quickly moving off to her room.

Speaking of school, Shinji had realised he hadn't made their lunches and decided he would skip his shower to make them. Temporarily forgetting about Asuka he moved to his room to get dressed. Dressing up quickly, Shinji then travelled back to the kitchen to make the bentos.

As he began preparing their lunches, the young boy found his thoughts returning to the redhead. Shinji found the redhead's behaviour quite strange today. On the one hand she didn't want to even be alone with him, but on the other hand she did little to stop him. He needed to know where he stood with yesterday's incident. Shaking his head, he returned his concentration on making the bentos.

As Shinji finished making their lunches Asuka, fully dressed, came in, took her box and rushed out of the house. A little surprised, the young boy quickly checked his pockets for his wallet and then grabbed his lunch and packed it into his bag, before bolting out the door after her. Making sure the door was locked he then ran on down the stairs and exited the building. Upon emerging, the young boy covered his eyes from the sunlight to search for the redhead. Seeing her down the street, Shinji sped off catching up with Asuka quickly as she walked casually towards the school.

"You don't wanna walk with me today? You always insist on doing so" Shinji asked curious.

"What's your problem? Do you have to hover around me?" Asuka retorted.

Shinji thought it best not to respond and so turned his face forward again. The two eva pilots then navigated the rest of their way to school in silence as Asuka obviously didn't want to talk to the boy. As they reached the front gates Shinji mustered up his courage and broke the silence.

"You know Asuka, you actually seem ok with what happened yesterday. Perhaps you can shed some light on the situation?" Shinji inquired.

"Just because I'm not bawling my eyes out doesn't mean I'm ok. If you haven't realised the situation by now, I'll tell you; you raped me! Furthermore I'm not whining and complaining about what happened because I'm not a pathetic moron like you! Now stop bothering me with stupid questions!" Asuka said obstinately.

At her outburst, Shinji felt a bit of remorse as he was reminded of what he had done and so he stayed quiet. Annoyed at Shinji's behaviour, Asuka muttered something under her breath as they walked through the front gates. School hadn't started yet, but there were no students outside and so the two teens walked into the school building together. Walking down the corridor to their classroom alone made them both feel uneasy for some reason and they were both relieved when they finally entered their classroom.

As they entered the room the atmosphere suddenly dropped; Asuka wasn't happy and everyone knew it. The two eva pilots separated without saying a word and went to their usual seats. Immediately Kensuke and Touji came over to Shinji to catch the scoop.

"Hey man what's up? It seems the redheaded demon over there is majorly pissed and you're looking down too," Touji commented.

"When isn't Asuka pissed?" Kensuke said jokingly.

"Hoo hoo haa!" Touji replied, giving Kensuke a high five.

"But seriously, did something happen?" Kensuke asked.

Shinji felt a pit in his stomach as he saw that other people noticed Asuka's current state; it had to really be noticeable for them to differentiate between her usual self and now. "Oh it's nothing really important but I advise you don't make Asuka angry, if you want to live" Shinji answered.

"Point taken Shinji" Touji noted.

"So anything happening at Nerv? Are they hiring a new pilot yet?" Kensuke asked eagerly.

"Why would you want to pilot? It was the worst experience I ever had!" Touji immediately responded.

Kensuke had momentarily forgotten that Touji had been the pilot of the angel-infected Unit 03 and decided not to continue on his piloting rant. It had only been pure luck that the jock hadn't received any serious injuries when the dummy plug took control of Unit 01.

"Well there isn't another Evangelion to pilot anyway, but I got a sync test tomorrow that's about it" Shinji said trying to relieve the tension.

"I wish I could go to Nerv with you" Kensuke said a little longingly.

"Just dress up as Shinji" Touji suggested, thinking it was the most obvious solution.

"Somehow I don't think that would work" Kensuke replied cynically.

"Oh why not?" Touji asked amused.

"Well even if I managed to look like Shinji, I don't have his DNA or even his ID card and also…" Kensuke answered, slowly being tuned out by Shinji's thoughts.

The male eva pilot couldn't help but look over at Asuka as she was sitting at her desk all gloomy. He noticed a worried looking Hikari come over to the redhead, probably concerned about her ominous appearance. The class representative starting talking to the young girl and even though Shinji couldn't hear them, he knew she was asking Asuka if she was ok.

Hikari had noticed the scowl on the redhead as soon as she looked her way. Concerned about her best friend, Hikari had gone to her desk to see if she could cheer her up. The redhead looked up at her as she came over and Hikari took a deep breath before she spoke.

"What's wrong Asuka? You look…down" Hikari said a little nervously.

"When is anything right? Shinji is an absolute baka, everything is his fault!" Asuka exclaimed.

"What are you talking about? Did Shinji do something to you?" Hikari asked curiously.

"Yes he was born" Asuka answered, her throat feeling dry. She couldn't tell Hikari what had happened, nor did she think it would help anyway. The ponytailed girl wasn't entirely convinced that this was just her usual annoyance towards her roommate.

"Come on Asuka, be serious. If there's a problem you can tell me" Hikari said sincerely.

"Don't worry Hikari I'm fine, living with someone will always get annoying especially with that baka, just don't ask me about him ok?" Asuka replied.

"Yes alright" Hikari said sighing in defeat.

At that moment the teacher came into the classroom and Hikari had to move back to her seat. The class rep said her usual "Rise! Bow! Sit!" and the class began.

The teacher sat down at his desk and started another one of his routine lectures on, not surprisingly, the second impact. Shinji usually found it difficult to concentrate on the teacher's words but today it was just impossible and not just because of the heat. His mind would always wonder back to the female eva pilot and what he had done to her yesterday. The young boy still wanted to make it up to her somehow, even though nothing could make up for what he did. Making up his mind, he supposed he wasn't going to listen to the teacher anyway, so he sent the redhead a message.

Asuka looked up at her screen, noticing the 'received message' icon blinking. Opening the message she then read it.

_God this guy is boring, help me stay awake and talk to me._

_Shinji_

The redhead didn't really want to talk to him, but she was also extremely bored and the last time she had fallen asleep in class Hikari had gotten real angry. She supposed nothing could be worse than listening to this old geezer and so she typed a reply.

_Whatever._

Well he got her talking to him, now he just needed to think of something to cheer her up. Maybe they should go somewhere?

_Well ok, anything happening today?_

_Nothing that I recall._

_Maybe you wanna go out somewhere today? To make you feel better._

_We are not a couple!_

_I didn't mean a date! Just to have fun or something like…how about the arcade?_

_Hmmm that's actually not a bad idea, I haven't played in ages. Well I agree, after school we'll go to the arcade._

_Great! Now then I'd like to talk about yesterday._

_I don't._

_What are you going to do about what happened?_

_I'm going to forget it ever happened._

_What? You're forgiving me?_

_As if! I can't change the past and I'm not gonna go become a Shinji and whine about it. I just want to remove this memory from my mind._

_How will you do that?_

_We will never speak about this again got it?_

_I understand._

Asuka may have the strength to push the event to the back of her mind, but Shinji just couldn't get it out of his head and he wasn't even the victim. But for now he could respect the young girl's wishes and not bring up the topic again. There was still one problem though, despite his guilt, ever since yesterday night he had felt strangely attracted to the redhead so much so that the desire to bed her again was becoming unbearable; were his hormones out of whack?

The bell rang for lunch, interrupting Shinji's thoughts. Everyone quickly got out of their seats, relieved to have a break from that dull lecture. Asuka was quick to exit the classroom and the young boy moved swiftly to catch up to her. The male eva pilot took the redhead's hand, pulling her into another corridor. Asuka looked back at Shinji with confusion.

"Aren't you going to eat with your friends baka?" she asked, curious at the third child's behaviour.

The young boy could not hold back his desires anymore and answered her question with a kiss. The young girl quickly pushed him away, fuming.

"Are you insane? We are in _school!_" Asuka hissed at Shinji.

"Then we'll go somewhere private," he said pushing her backside.

"Remove your hand! I have no desire to do anything with you, especially at school" she said annoyed.

"We can do it here or go somewhere private, it's your choice" Shinji said getting impatient.

"I refuse!" Asuka announced, turning around.

However the young boy grabbed the redhead from behind and moved one hand up her skirt.

"Alright alright, we'll go somewhere private" Asuka said frantically as he began to pull down her panties.

With that Shinji grabbed Asuka's hand and pulled her with him. The young boy led the redhead down to the old storeroom. The school had two storage rooms and this one was barely used as the other was much bigger and as such it was the perfect place for the two eva pilots. The male eva pilot looked down the corridor to see if anyone was watching or following them before entering the room with Asuka and closing the door.

"This is a really stupid idea" the young girl said aggravated.

"No one comes down here, no one will know about this" Shinji said thinking Asuka was worried.

"Lunch break doesn't last that long either you moron!" she replied angrily.

"Then I'll just have to be quick," Shinji said grinning a little.

The young boy picked Asuka up, with a little complaint from her, and then sat her on one of the tables in the room. Reaching under her skirt Shinji pulled her panties down, causing the redhead to feel anxious; she found it impossible for her to stop his actions. Moving his hand up her leg, the male eva pilot stopped at her opening and then started to run his fingers through her soft mound of red hair. Travelling down slowly he began teasing her outer lips, moving his finger up and down her slit, making her shiver.

"I thought you said you were going to be quick" Asuka remarked.

"You're not wet enough" Shinji replied.

"You can make me wet faster!" Asuka said blushing a little.

At this Shinji slipped his finger inside her pussy and she moaned in pleasure. The young boy could clearly see the redhead's excitement; her nipples were quite visible through the school uniform. Using his other hand, he fondled her breast as he thrust his finger up her vagina a little faster making her cry out erotically. Shinji loved the little sensual noises she made; it was like she was desperately trying to pretend she wasn't aroused.

The male eva pilot added more fingers to her pussy and fondled her breast more roughly, making sure to give her nipples some attention through the fabric of her uniform. However Shinji realised he was getting carried away and that they didn't have much time so he reluctantly removed his fingers from her wet cunt. Looking down at the redhead he could see that she seemed to be nervous; she was avoiding his gaze and almost pretending she wasn't there.

Pulling down his pants revealed Shinji's rock hard cock; he was clearly excited. Moving closer to her he spread her legs open to give him access to her vagina. The young boy could feel the tension in her legs and see the hesitance in her movement; perhaps she was worried about the pain?

"It shouldn't hurt this time or at least not as much" Shinji said reassuring her.

The young girl made no reply and he took this as a sign to continue, positioning his cock at her entrance. The sight of her spread legs awaiting his entry was too much for Shinji and he couldn't hold back anymore. Asuka was having second thoughts and was about to object, but it was too late as the young boy pushed his cock inside her, making her groan in pleasure at the penetration. The redhead knew it was now pointless to resist and besides he was once again relieving her sexual frustration; as long as he initiated it, she didn't have to take responsibility.

Shinji pushed further inside her, causing Asuka to wince slightly but nothing more; the forceful intercourse yesterday had been enough. The young boy could feel his heart pounding as he pressed himself deeper inside the young girl, her tight canal felt warm and wet. Asuka let out a low moan as he went deeper and she wrapped her legs around the boy's waist. Without hesitation Shinji began to thrust in and out of the redhead faster, using her waist as a support, and Asuka's cries of pleasure grew accordingly.

At this the young girl began to dig her nails into Shinji's neck. Unable to stand the pain, the male eva pilot grabbed her arms and pushed the redhead down flat on the table and began to pound into her even faster. The redhead found herself powerless against his cock and stopped struggling against him. Still holding her arms, the young boy moved down to kiss Asuka's neck as he continued to plunge into her.

"I can't believe…how good this feels" Asuka let out, her face contorted with pleasure.

Sweat began to form on Shinji's brow from the exertion and he wiped it off with his hand. But the young boy could feel himself growing tired and less able to hold his orgasm back. With a last ditch effort he plunged his whole length into her reaching further than he ever had, pulling out fully before ramming it back in. He was fucking her so hard she could barely breathe. The effort wasn't wasted as the young girl finally screamed in orgasm and Shinji was thankful the room was soundproof. Shinji felt her vagina clamp down on him and he exploded inside her.

Asuka herself was squirming as she climaxed with Shinji holding her down; it was obvious she had never felt anything this intense before. Despite being tired, the young boy sat Asuka back up, holding her around her waist and continued to thrust into her as she came down from her orgasm. After she stopped, Shinji collapsed on top of her and both teens were panting hard, sweat covering them all over.

"You are so tight Asuka" Shinji whispered into the redhead's ear.

"I think you're just ridiculously big" she huffed, pushing the boy off her.

Shinji pulled the redhead up, bringing their lips together. Asuka made a small noise in protest but nothing else. Hesitantly, the young boy slid his tongue across the redhead's lips as if asking for entry as he remembered the last time his tongue had entered her mouth. The young girl parted her lips, letting his tongue through. Shinji wasted no time in deepening the kiss, fighting with her tongue for dominance. Wanting Shinji to just finish she let him win, enduring the probing of her mouth, as he seemed to want to taste all of her. Finally he pulled away leaving a trail of saliva forming between them before it broke.

"You most definitely enjoyed that" Shinji commented.

"Find me a single human being who doesn't enjoy having sex" Asuka refuted.

"That scream was pretty loud" Shinji countered.

"We need to get back to class already, I don't want anyone getting suspicious and making up stupid rumours about us" Asuka answered back, ignoring his comment.

The young boy looked at his watch and saw the break really was almost over.

"Point taken, we'll head back to class now" Shinji stated.

Now that he was calm again and his lust sated Shinji struggled to remember why he had chosen to do this in the first place. He felt guilty for yesterday and doing these things only made him feel worse, but it just felt so pleasurable physically and the redhead barely resisted him now. The young boy decided that he should probably hold back the next urge as it wasn't fair on Asuka, although why he had these overpowering urges he really didn't know.

Picking up the panties Shinji had taken off Asuka, he then handed them to the redhead who quickly pulled them back on. The male eva pilot also pulled up his pants to cover himself again. Still feeling the after effects, the young girl's legs momentarily wobbled as she stood up, causing Shinji to once again push the redhead's backside to move her forward.

"Keep your hand off me! I don't need to be led, I can walk myself!" Asuka snapped at him, whacking his arm.

"But Asuka you were-" Shinji started.

"We've wasted enough time already, let's just go!" she said impatiently, opening the door to the storeroom.

The redhead hurried on out of the storeroom and back to the classroom, with Shinji quickly following after her. They stopped before the classroom and composed themselves, making sure their attire was worn correctly and their hair wasn't messed or anything. After fixing themselves up they started walking the rest of the way. Asuka didn't want anyone to find out what she had been doing with Shinji, but she could feel her skirt and panties were a bit damp and she could detect a faint smell about her. Hopefully no one would notice it, but she was still a bit worried nonetheless.

The two eva pilots decided to enter the class separately to make it less suspicious. Shinji entered the classroom first, where he moved to his seat. It would seem Touji and Kensuke hadn't arrived yet; Shinji wondered whether they were looking for him or just taking their time. As Asuka entered next, the students started their usual murmur about the school idol but nothing out of the ordinary. However Hikari walked over to her friend, curious about her disappearance during lunchtime. Asuka saw the ponytailed girl approach and put up her usual mask.

"Did you go somewhere at lunch? Not that I really mind, but you usually tell me if you're not eating with me so I don't wait" Hikari asked.

"Umm sorry Hikari, I just realised I had to go see the principal about some Nerv related business and I forgot to tell you I wasn't coming" Asuka lied.

"It's alright, I was just curious. You smell a bit funny though Asuka, it's a little faint I only just noticed it now" Hikari replied.

"Yeah that baka Shinji spilt something on me, the smell's almost gone now though" Asuka quickly explained.

"So Shinji was with you as well?" Hikari asked.

"Yeah of course, it was Nerv business after all" Asuka answered.

"So everything is ok?" Hikari inquired.

"Yeah it's all cool, it was nothing big" Asuka replied. The redhead was growing slightly annoyed at how big the lie was getting.

"Well that's good. Anyways I wanted to ask you something at lunch but class is about to begin so it'll have to wait" Hikari replied.

No sooner had the ponytailed girl said this when their teacher walked in. Touji and Kensuke had entered the classroom just before the teacher and didn't get a chance to talk to Shinji. After Hikari's "Rise! Bow! Sit!" the students all sat down at their desks. Again the teacher began his soporific lecture and, as always, everyone found it impossible to pay attention. Shinji looked at his screen as he noticed the blinking 'received message' button and clicked it.

_Where were you at lunch today? You just disappeared and we looked around for you._

_Kensuke_

'Damn I forgot about them at the time. I should have sent them a message that I wouldn't be coming for lunch' Shinji thought. The young boy began typing a reply.

_Oh sorry about that, I forgot to tell you I had to go do a teacher's errand, it took all of lunch sorry._

_Hey no worries. I thought you were abducted by Asuka or something :P._

_If I were you, I wouldn't go around talking about her behind her back. You know the mood she's in._

_Alright I'll play safe and shut up about her._

_Good you will live past this day :)._

_Thank you all knowing and wise Shinji._

_Lol._

_You doing anything after school?_

_Yeah I am._

_Oh ok._

Sitting back the male eva pilot found himself once again looking in the direction of the redhead; he really couldn't get her out of his head. The only upside to this was that she took his concentration away from the teacher, taking away the dullness of this lesson. Time seemed to fly by and it wasn't long till the bell rang and everyone, happy to leave, rushed out of the classroom. With the pileup of students, Shinji decided it was better to just wait outside the school for Asuka.

Getting out of the classroom the young boy then moved down the corridor and exited the school building. He walked outside the front gates and waited for her there. Shinji soon noticed her red hair in the crowd and waved in her direction. The young girl soon came up to him and flicked him on the forehead.

"Have you got money? Because if you don't, we have to go back to the apartment first" Asuka asked.

"Yeah I brought my wallet, it should have enough" Shinji answered.

"Well then let's not waste anymore time" the redhead said huffing, before moving off.

The young boy only hesitated shortly, before following after her. Thus the two eva pilots began their trek to the arcade and as Shinji had predicted the sun was blazing hot. The only sound heard between them was that of the passing motor vehicles and pedestrians. Not enjoying the silence and tension between them Shinji decided to speak up.

"Umm about lunch…" he began.

"Don't talk to me you rapist" Asuka simply replied.

"It's just you're so a-attractive and…well" he said stammering. What was he trying to say?

"I don't care what bullshit excuses you come up with, just stop taking advantage of me. And shut up too, you're ruining my mood" Asuka commanded firmly.

Shinji couldn't understand why, but he felt a slight smile form on his face at her response. Arriving at the arcade, they quickly moved inside to relieve themselves from the sun and got into the queue to buy tokens. When the redhead saw Shinji waiting for her to go in front, she pushed him in front of her.

"What's wrong?" Shinji asked puzzled.

"I don't trust you" Asuka stated.

The young boy grinned at the comment, making sure his roommate couldn't see his face. The line wasn't that long and the two teens reached the token office in a couple of minutes. Stepping back Shinji pulled out his wallet and handed it to Asuka.

"Buy as much as you want" Shinji said unconcernedly.

The young girl took his wallet a little surprised he wasn't worried about her spending too much money. After paying for the tokens they went over to the game machines.

"Where did you get so much money?" Asuka asked him curiously.

"You know how Misato gives us money weekly to buy stuff for ourselves? Well I don't think I've ever used it and it just built up" Shinji answered.

"Amazing that your stupidity actually came in handy" she remarked.

The young boy just stuck out his tongue at her. Exploring the place, the two teens walked around looking for any decent games that were available. The arcade wasn't packed today, but it still had many people walking about and occupying games. The place was fairly dark but the light from all the flashing screens kept the place alight. Various images were played back and forth trying to entice people to play it. Finding an interesting two player game that was empty, the two eva pilots dropped their bags and sat down in front of the controls.

"You won't stand a chance against me Shinji" Asuka said arrogantly.

"You're on" Shinji replied competitively.

The sound of furious button mashing could be heard as the two roommates began battling each other intensely. It was amazing to see the amount of concentration the two eva pilots put into their game. However the first round was soon over as the redhead released a multi hit combo upon Shinji, destroying him. The young boy felt a little annoyed but decided he still had lots of chances to beat her and begun another round with her. However his annoyance grew increasingly larger as he continuously lost to the young girl. With the final score being 32 to 4 the male eva pilot had grown sick of losing and decided perhaps another game was a good idea.

"Oh my Shinji, is that all you can do?" Asuka said smugly, poking him in the chest.

"Let's play another game" he replied, not wanting to give in to her provoking.

"Fine with me" she said sniggering.

Despite the fact that he had lost so many times, Shinji was glad that Asuka was having fun; seeing her enjoying herself was much preferable to her scowl. After getting up, they looked around and found an unoccupied two player cooperation game. Unknown to them it was one of the hardest games in this arcade. The whole world disappeared around them as they fought through many levels, one could note the excellent teamwork they had. As they had advanced further through the game than most people, many had gathered around to watch the progress of the two eva pilots, forming a small crowd.

It wasn't long till they reached the final boss, which no one had done previously. The two teens were both proficient in using all the weapons and were quite adept at covering each other. Of course the redhead preferred to charge in with her guns blazing and have Shinji snipering from behind. The final boss was heavily guarded requiring the two eva pilots to use stealth. Asuka gave Shinji the signal before moving off and firing her weapons at the guards. While the redhead fought running ahead, the young boy would dispatch any guard who was firing at his teammate.

Accidentally missing a shot forced the redhead to duck behind cover. As Asuka was pinned down Shinji took out his shotgun and got in close to blow up the guards from behind. Finally with all guards dead the two approached the boss cautiously, not knowing how he would attack. Asuka decided to test his abilities out by running out across to the other side of the room. The boss instantly began firing at her with deadly accuracy even going as far as to shoot ahead of her, forcing her to stop and roll. Sensing Asuka was in danger, Shinji moved out and the boss used his other arm to fire at him as Shinji zigzagged his way across the room. It was impossible how he was able to aim so accurately at both of them at the same time, but then again it was a game. Fortunately the firing stopped as he had to reload and both teens went in quick and began firing at him; unfortunately he was also good at dodging bullets. Using the idea that he couldn't dodge two attacks simultaneously they timed their attack perfectly, landing a hit on the boss. With that one flinch the two eva pilots finished him off, completely decimating him. Everyone who had been watching them clapped and cheered.

"Not bad Shinji" Asuka congratulated Shinji.

He just smiled at the praise, thankful for the time they had enjoyed together. Their moment of glory was interrupted shortly as Kensuke came out of the crowd and addressed them.

"So Shinji, this is what you were doing after school?" Kensuke asked.

"Oh hey Kensuke, yeah I promised to" Shinji replied.

"Oh it's fine, I just never thought you and the redhead would go out on a date" Kensuke replied back.

The change in room temperature was physically felt.

"What did you say you stooge?" Asuka said seething.

Kensuke realised his mistake too late and attempted to take back his comment. "You see it was just strange to see you two together" he said nervously.

"Shinji is the biggest baka in the world and I'd never go out with him. As for you at least Shinji has hope, you on the other hand have none, I couldn't imagine any girl wanting you" Asuka spat angrily.

Kensuke was riled up, finding her comment completely uncalled for. "Shut up you demon, you're just saying that cause no guy would want you, you uber bitch!" he replied angrily.

Asuka's response was immediate as she slapped him. Hard. At this point the crowd had completely dispersed, not wanting to get involved. Intervening in the fight, Shinji seized Asuka and held her back.

"Kensuke what the hell are you saying?" Shinji asked.

"She started it" Kensuke answered.

"That's just childish, you shouldn't have continued it!" Shinji refuted.

"Shinji let me go, let me kill him!" Asuka said exasperated.

"Let her go Shinji, I'll give her a piece of me" Kensuke said, raising his fists.

"Kensuke you don't stand a chance against her. She's an eva pilot and thus well trained in close combat" Shinji explained.

This momentary lapse in concentration was enough as Asuka used the distraction and elbowed Shinji in the gut making him release her. The redhead was quick to attack Kensuke, who had already prepared himself. Throwing a roundhouse kick at him, Kensuke dodged it and then punched her in the stomach. It wasn't that hard of a punch but it was enough to make her keel over, after which Kensuke kicked her in the side. Now Asuka was enraged.

"That's it Kensuke I'm not holding back" she said furiously.

The young girl kicked his legs almost making him fall over, after which she got back up and made no hesitation in landing a blow to his face. The otaku stumbled back and realised he really didn't stand a chance. However without mercy Asuka pressed on and did a low kick, tripping him over. Pulling him up, she then punched him in the stomach. At this time, the young girl felt two arms come around her and pull her back.

"Let go, I'm not finished yet!" Asuka shouted.

"Asuka calm down! Can't you see he's hurt bad enough?" Shinji said sternly.

She looked down at him noticing he was bruised and had a bleeding nose, but she was stubborn.

"What about me? He hurt me as well" she replied aggravated.

"Asuka…" Shinji started.

The young girl still hadn't given up and wiggled out of his grasp. Just as she was about to attack again, Shinji quickly tripped her over. The male eva pilot then grabbed her and lifted her off the ground, carrying her out of the arcade, much to Asuka's dismay. After Shinji let her down the redhead turned her face away from the young boy, also irritated with him.

"Asuka you really went overboard" Shinji said sighing.

"But-" she began.

"No buts, you knew he didn't stand a chance and you took advantage of his ignorance" Shinji said interrupting her.

"I don't care and I don't care what you think" Asuka retorted.

"Look you really need to apologise to him Asuka" he said firmly.

"No way!" was her immediate response.

He put his hand on her shoulder. "Please" he requested.

Asuka just stood there stubbornly, not making any attempt to move. Shinji couldn't waste any time; Kensuke was inside and in need of some help. He could go in himself, but he didn't want Asuka to think he was leaving her for him. If only there was some way to persuade or threaten Asuka into going back in.

"_Well at least I'll finally be able to prove my piloting ability is still superior" she said nastily, looking back at him._

Sudden realisation hit him; her weak spot was her pride about being an eva pilot.

"I will tell everyone at school about your low synch ratio" Shinji pressured.

"What? No one would believe you, it's an empty threat" she countered.

"I could get Kensuke to check, video tape the next sync test or just make a public scene right now, it's not that hard" Shinji argued back.

"You wouldn't dare" Asuka said glaring at him.

"Just try me" Shinji replied. The redhead didn't respond, believing he was just bluffing; however she was in for a surprise. "Asuka the second child who pilots Unit 02 has been perform-mmphh!" Shinji started shouting only to be cut off by Asuka covering his mouth.

Some of the passersby had looked their way at the outburst and the redhead knew it wouldn't be hard for the people to recognise them, she couldn't risk another one.

"Just shut up already, I will never say sorry to that stooge but I swear I will let you do anything you want to me at the apartment if you just shut up" she whispered to him.

Something stirred inside the male eva pilot; her comment had sounded so seductive and he could feel his desires burning up again. The young boy had the intense urge to just run back to the apartment with her, but controlled himself and began to reply. After Shinji started mumbling something, the young girl removed her hand from his mouth to let him speak.

"You're kidding right? All you have to do is say sorry, it's really not that hard. I think I'll start shouting again" he said breathing in.

"No wait!" she said quickly, causing the boy to halt. The redhead seemed to think the matter over in her head and seeing no other options, she sighed in defeat. "Alright I'll do it" she agreed.

"Also if he insults you again or doesn't accept your apology, don't start anything" Shinji added.

"Fine!" she said throwing up her arms.

Asuka then stepped on the boy's foot before quickly walking back into the arcade sulking. Shinji clutched his foot in agony, leaning against a nearby wall to wait for the pain to subside. She hadn't just stepped on his foot; she had stomped on it with all her might. After a while, the young boy decided he could walk again and limped back into the arcade to check on Asuka and Kensuke. It didn't take long to see Asuka's red hair and he walked towards her. Shinji soon saw Kensuke leaning against a machine, trying to stop his nose bleeding. Asuka moved over to the injured boy and hauled him up, wiping the blood from his face with a tissue which she took from her pocket.

"Here hold your nose to stop the bleeding and lay your head back" Asuka said quietly.

A thought struck Shinji at that point, just then Asuka acted almost motherly. Upon noticing the young girl just standing there, he shook his thoughts away and coughed loudly. The redhead had heard it, but she was finding difficulty in apologising to the bespectacled boy.

"I have something to say Kensuke" Asuka said hesitantly.

"What's that?" Kensuke asked.

"About this fight well…I'm…it's just…well umm" she said weakly.

The injured boy looked at her confused and Shinji coughed again.

"I'm sorry Kensuke" she blurted out. For some odd reason the redhead felt extremely relieved by saying this.

"What?" Kensuke asked surprised.

Obviously not used to Asuka saying sorry, he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Don't make me say it again" she said aggravated.

"Are you feeling well Asuka?" Kensuke inquired.

The young girl sighed in irritation but remembered what Shinji had said and stopped herself. "I'm perfectly fine" she replied.

"Alright, apology accepted Asuka, nice to know you're not such a bitch all the time" Kensuke said jokingly.

Her forehead creased in anger and Shinji looked at Kensuke, shaking his head.

"Just kidding Asuka! I'm also sorry about what I said to you. But man do you punch hard!" Kensuke said cringing at the pain in his body.

"It taught you a good lesson" Asuka replied pompously.

"Right…well anyway after beating me up I don't feel like hanging out here anymore" he said wincing. "I would love to stay here with you two, but I need to get some proper first aid treatment and I don't wanna ruin the mood for you two" he said sarcastically, before quickly moving to the exit narrowly dodging Asuka's fist.

"See ya guys," Kensuke said waving goodbye, before exiting the arcade.

"There that wasn't so bad was it Asuka?" Shinji said turning to face her.

"Whatever, you just spoiled all the fun I just had" she said pushing him away and exiting the arcade herself.

The young boy frowned as he looked at her retreating figure. This was meant to be a way to make it up to her and he ruined it all; but he couldn't think of another way to have solved the situation. Shinji took both their bags and exited the arcade, looking up at the sky to see the sun was already setting. There was nothing he could do now except walk home with her and so he followed after her. After catching up to her, the two walked on towards their apartment silently. The redhead was annoyed mostly at the fact that she had to apologise to Kensuke, making it seem like she was in the wrong. 'That baka Shinji always manages to piss me off somehow. But he's gotta know his place' she thought. It was only a little further till the apartment when Asuka broke the silence.

"Just so you know I am NOT one to be reckoned with. This will never happen again or you'll be drinking toilet water" she said punching him in the shoulder.

"Understood Asuka" Shinji replied uneasily.

At that moment a piece of paper smacked Asuka in the face. She pulled it off her face and began reading it out of curiosity.

_Eva brand condoms; for protection as good as an AT field. Have safe sex and buy a condom from your nearest chemist._

Her eyes widened as a sudden thought hit her. "Shinji you baka, why did you cum inside me when you had intercourse with me? What if I become pregnant? You just let your load off without a second thought!" she told him angrily.

The young boy seemed surprisingly calm considering the redhead's anger and the news she just revealed; however the only thing her comment had aroused was his desire to make love to her. "You won't become pregnant, don't worry" he reassured her.

"How can you be so sure? Just because you _think_ I won't, doesn't _mean_ I won't!" she shouted back at him, annoyed at his nonchalance.

The male eva pilot let out a breath before speaking. "Look Asuka I know for a fact if you bathe in LCL regularly it acts as a contraceptive, now being eva pilots we satisfy that condition, you won't become pregnant" he explained.

"How do you know that?" Asuka asked perplexed.

"Kaji told me" he answered.

She just looked at him shocked; well if it was Kaji, he probably would know, but why would he tell Shinji that? The young boy waved his hand in front of the girl's face, breaking her out of her daze. Shinji decided he needed the redhead to stop brooding; after all he wanted her to cheer up.

"Come on let's have a race" he said handing the redhead her bag before running off towards the apartment.

Asuka smiled slightly before quickly running after him, chasing him to the apartment. As they reached the apartment she managed to overtake him and made it inside first. The two teens leant against a wall to catch their breath.

"What a speedy devil you are," he said panting.

"You should know by now I'm better at everything than you" she sneered.

At that comment Shinji smiled. It was surprising to see how little it took to change the redhead's mood. "Wanna take the elevator instead of the stairs?" he suggested.

"Would I ever" Asuka replied.

The two eva pilots walked towards the elevator, entered it and pressed the button for their floor number. The two elevator doors closed and so began their ascent. The temperature inside the elevator was far cooler than the outside, but the two teens still felt hot after their exertion. Being alone in the elevator was too much for Shinji and he could no longer hold himself back. He moved in front of the redhead, placing an arm on either side of her. Asuka just looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"So Asuka, what was that about letting me do anything I want to you?" Shinji asked mischievously.

The redhead couldn't help blushing as she recalled what she said. "What about it?" she replied.

"I would like you to hold up your end of the bargain" Shinji answered, beginning to play with her hair.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, whacking his hand away.

"Well you did say you would let me do anything to you if I shut up and I did" Shinji replied nuzzling her neck.

"But you shut up to a different agreement" she retorted pushing his head away from her.

"Who says I didn't include both? You certainly never took back what you said" he said smiling. She was trapped and nothing she could say could change this.

"You're a manipulative bastard Shinji!" she shouted at him, before pushing him away and exiting the elevator which had opened just previously.

The young boy quickly chased after her, exiting the elevator and running to their door. Shinji saw the redhead enter their residence and heard a bag drop. Sprinting towards the door, he lodged his foot in the doorway just before she closed it. Opening the door he saw the redhead turn around and run off again only to trip over a beer can that was lying on the floor. Shinji moved quickly and caught Asuka before she hit the ground.

"That fucking stupid alcoholic, leaving her cans around like that is dangerous!" Asuka shouted.

"Well it looks like it's my lucky day" Shinji said closing the door with his foot.

The young girl just groaned as the male eva pilot lifted her off the ground and began carrying her. Moving into the living room, Shinji set her down on the couch before moving on top of her. The male eva pilot attempted to pull off Asuka's shirt, but found it extremely difficult with her constant squirming and so he dropped his bag onto the floor as well.

"Stop wriggling you damn worm" he said annoyed.

"How stupid do you think I am?" she refuted.

Growing tired of her games the young boy just reached under her skirt, pulling her panties all the way down. The redhead tried to close her legs but he had already moved in between them. Reaching up her skirt again, he made contact with her private region making Asuka shiver. The redhead moaned aloud as he began to rub her most sensitive spot and Shinji could already feel her wetness. At his actions, the redhead once again found herself giving into him and stopped struggling.

Noticing her sudden compliance, Shinji made no hesitation in removing the girl's shirt, followed quickly by her bra which he let fall to the floor. Excitement flowed through both teen's bodies as the young boy moved his mouth onto her exposed chest. Shinji began kissing the redhead's breasts, making sure to suck gently, causing her to make sensual noises. He made sure to give her nipples ample attention as he began to pull down his trousers. After his underwear was pulled down, he wasted no time in thrusting his erect cock into Asuka, making her cry out.

The young boy lifted up the girl, resting her legs on his hips and putting her arms around him before pounding into her. The redhead's face was set into a mask of pleasure as she cried out with each thrust, her hands gripping Shinji tightly. The male eva pilot moved his mouth towards her moaning lips and planted a kiss on them, being aroused by her face and her noises. He could feel her warmth seeping through his clothes; he feel could her every movement as he continued to plunge into her. The exertion of holding up the redhead and thrusting into her had caused a layer of sweat to form on his skin, soaking his clothes.

"Would you two stop that damn racket? What are you doing, making out or something?" a voice shouted from the bathroom.

At the sound of the familiar voice, Shinji almost dropped the redhead in shock; they had completely forgotten all about Misato. Thankfully she hadn't realised what they were doing, but if she came out now and saw them like this, they would be in deep trouble. At once the young boy let Asuka down, pulling his pants and boxers back up. As Asuka was picking up her panties and shirt, they heard a flush coming from the bathroom, making her panic and she bolted to her room leaving her bra behind.

Footsteps could be heard as Misato walked towards the door of the bathroom, leaving no time for Shinji to hide the bra. Realising his erection was sticking out of his pants, which the Major would almost certainly notice, he ran into the kitchen and tried to calm himself down. He heard the door open, followed by her walking towards the kitchen. 'God damn it, this isn't working' he thought. Looking around the kitchen for some solution he found it in the form of a fridge. Opening the fridge he used the door to hide himself, pretending he was looking for something. Misato entered the kitchen only a second later and noticed Shinji looking through the fridge.

"Were you having a fight with Asuka or something? Can't you get along for more than five minutes? You didn't even announce that you had come in" Misato told him angrily.

"Sorry Misato, but we didn't know you were home" Shinji replied.

"That's beside the point, you shouldn't have been making such a racket" Misato replied back.

"What were you doing so long in the toilet anyway?" Shinji asked.

"Isn't it rude to ask a woman that?" Misato said teasingly before sighing. "I must have eaten something bad or drunk too much beer because I had the worst stomach ache" she answered.

'Wow there's food even Misato can't handle?' Shinji thought smiling.

"So where's Asuka?" Misato asked curiously.

"I'm here," the redhead said as she walked into the kitchen, wearing a loose top.

"What have you two been doing that you came home so late?" Misato inquired.

"We were at the arcade," they said in unison.

'Damn that sync training is freaky sometimes' Misato thought. "I see, Shinji have you finished looking through that fridge yet? I'm hungry" Misato said impatiently.

"Yes I'm done, I'll start making dinner right away" he said closing the fridge door, thankfully his body had calmed down and his pants were as they usually were.

"Why are your clothes so sweaty? Did you run a marathon or something Shinji?" Misato asked noticing his clothes as he closed the fridge door.

"It was really hot today Misato" Shinji stated.

"I don't see Asuka sweating like a pig" Misato said pointing at the redhead.

Shinji found himself stuck as he couldn't say that she hadn't been wearing a shirt. "Well Asuka left her wallet at the arcade so I had to run back and get it" he lied.

"It was all the baka's fault that I forgot it so he deserved it" Asuka declared, playing along with the lie.

"Well you should go and change those clothes, otherwise you're gonna smell real bad" Misato replied.

"Hai" he replied back. "Right after I finish making dinner" he added.

"Good because I really wanna eat" Misato said grinning.

The purple haired woman turned around and exited the kitchen, followed shortly by the redhead. Having looked through the fridge, the boy had discovered that Misato had gone shopping again and decided that the safest option was to just go with instant noodles; he would go grocery shopping another time. Thus the young boy began preparing a meal for them to eat.

In the dining room Misato and Asuka sat down at the table, quietly waiting for Shinji to finish. A devious grin appeared on the Major's face as she looked over at the redhead. Asuka just gave her a confused look.

"Asuka what have you been doing? You're acting a little strange and your nipples are erect, it looks like you're in heat" Misato said playfully.

"What?" Asuka said blushing

"Thank God Shinji is naïve, or he would have realised. I can't believe you would do something like that while Shinji was just in the other room" Misato continued.

"I think you're gravely mistaken Misato" the redhead replied irritated.

"Why are you so wet then?" Misato asked.

"How did you-" Asuka started before closing her mouth, realising she had fallen in her trap.

"I knew it! With all the comments you make about Shinji being a pervert, you're such a hypocrite" Misato said.

"Misato shut up!" she said blushing so much her face was as red as her hair.

"Admit it!" Misato ordered.

"Fine I did, you happy!" Asuka replied, deciding the Major would never let it go.

The purple haired woman smiled in victory. "Now now, no need to be ashamed or embarrassed, you're a teenager I understand" Misato said gleefully.

"Misato" Asuka said threateningly.

"Alright alright, who were you thinking about though? Was it Shinji?" Misato said unable to hold herself back.

The redhead stood up from her chair and jumped onto Misato, tackling her to the ground almost breaking the chair. Laughter could soon be heard from the Major as Asuka started tickling her.

"Stop it Asuka! That's something you're not allowed to do" Misato said feebly.

"I told you to shut up!" Asuka retorted.

Misato continued laughing, unable to bear the tickling. Gritting her teeth the Major finally pushed Asuka off of her. Taking in deep breaths of air to replenish the oxygen she had lost, Misato then gave Asuka a big bear hug.

"No need to hide anything from me Asuka, if you ever need to talk about something I'm here alright?" Misato said warmly.

"Yes yes I know" Asuka replied annoyed.

With that the young girl stood up and returned to her chair, while the Major picked her chair back up and sat back at the table.

"Dinner's ready!" Shinji shouted.

As it didn't take long to prepare noodles the boy had finished pretty quickly. He had heard all the noises coming from the dining room, especially Misato's laughing, but decided not to ask, not wanting to get involved. Placing the meals down at the table, Shinji then sat down at the table himself.

"Noodles…?" Asuka asked disbelievingly.

"Misato went shopping" Shinji simply replied.

Understanding crossed the redhead's face instantly at his comment. "Let's eat then" the redhead replied without further argument.

The Major just looked at the two eva pilots suspiciously, wondering what exactly they had communicated with each other. As the two teens began to eat the woman gave up and began eating herself too. The three roommates ate in silence, none of them having anything to say. Asuka in particular was a little irritated they had been interrupted in the middle of having sex. It had left her body all flushed, wet and unsatisfied as Shinji was forced to stop. The redhead didn't enjoy the feeling of her pussy aching for stimulation and so she actually had tried to make herself orgasm back in her room, but it was to no avail as she couldn't push herself over the edge; as much as it annoyed her, she needed Shinji.

Finishing her meal, Asuka then stretched her arms up. Because of her loose top one could see that the girl was not wearing a bra, unfortunately Misato happened to be looking her way the moment she stretched.

"Asuka you're not wearing a bra!" Misato exclaimed.

Asuka blushed at her statement while Shinji looked at her chest instinctively. Now that he was actually concentrating on it, he could see the redhead was indeed missing a bra; surely she would have put on another one? Of course it didn't go past the redhead unnoticed that Shinji was looking at her cleavage.

"Shinji you pervert! Stop staring at my breasts!" Asuka shouted at him.

Shinji just realised what he had been doing and quickly looked away blushing. Misato just snickered enjoying the situation a lot more than she let on; she loved making Shinji blush too. Suddenly feeling self-conscious the redhead put her arms across her chest, covering it with her arms.

"So what's your explanation Asuka?" the Major asked mischievously. "Or were you and Shinji doing something while I was in the toilet?" she said smiling evilly.

Hearing this, Shinji fell out of his seat.

"What? I would never do something like that with such a perverted hentai baka like Shinji!" Asuka shouted immediately.

"I didn't say you were doing anything perverted, sure sounds like denial" Misato said wickedly.

The redhead stood up enraged and pointed at her guardian angrily. "Stop spouting such ridiculous nonsense Misato and don't ever point out things like my chest when a boy is present, he was damn near drooling!" Asuka shouted at her.

"It didn't look like you minded at first," Misato replied cheekily.

"I didn't notice!" she said defensively.

"Are you sure that you didn't wear it so that Shinji would notice?" Misato asked cackling her head off.

"That's it! I've had it with your perverted stupidity, I can no longer communicate intelligently with this crowd so I'm leaving!" she shouted and stormed off to her room, slamming the door shut.

Misato instantly felt guilt and regret at her comments but it had been so fun to tease her. Noticing the boy getting up from the floor she sighed. "You know what, I'll wash the dishes this time Shinji" Misato told him.

"Thanks" he replied, watching her enter the kitchen to begin her task.

The young boy couldn't help but wonder as to why Asuka had been so angry. Yes Misato had gone a bit overboard with the teasing, but usually Asuka would make a smart comeback to get Misato to shut up. Well anyway now that his guardian was preoccupied with washing the dishes he could go and safely retrieve Asuka's bra. Walking over to the couch, he picked up the bra that was lying on the floor; it was amazing that Misato hadn't seen it. Looking in the direction of Asuka's room he tried to make up his mind on what he should do. Shinji didn't want to hassle the redhead right now, but he wanted to see if she was ok; perhaps there was something else bothering her, besides he should return her bra. With this in mind the male eva pilot moved to her room and knocked on her door. Not hearing any response he decided to speak up so she would know who it was.

"Hello Asuka" he called through the door.

"Go away" Asuka replied instantly.

"I've come to give you your bra back" he said making an excuse.

"Go away" she repeated.

Knowing the redhead didn't like to admit weakness, Shinji decided to just enter. "Alright I'm coming in" he announced.

Opening the door, the young boy walked in and saw Asuka lying on the bed face forward.

"Why didn't you put a new bra on?" he asked her closing the door.

"I didn't have any in my room, they must all be in the wash or something" she answered irritated.

"Ah…sorry" he said out of habit.

The redhead threw a pillow at the boy, annoyed at his apology.

"Err sor- umm you know it wasn't _that _bad Asuka. Are you sure there's not something else bothering you Asuka?" he asked concerned.

"I don't need help from anyone, especially _you_" Asuka spat angrily.

The young boy just stayed silent at her response. 'I didn't offer to help her, something is definitely bothering her' he thought. Moving over to her, he left her undergarment on her desk and slid his hands under her, pulling her next to him. This simple gesture sent arousal throughout the redhead's body once again, irritating her even more; to think that her body reacted to him so strongly pissed her off. Seeing as she was avoiding his gaze and being uncooperative, Shinji decided he might as well put her bra back on for her.

"I'll just put it on for you" he said pulling her shirt off, exposing her bosom.

The redhead didn't make any movement to oppose him and so he continued. Cupping her breasts the young boy was surprised to see Asuka moan and arch her back involuntarily as soon as he made contact with her chest, while Asuka blushed at her reaction. Shinji looked at the young girl to see her still unmoving, he then noticed her nipples were still erect in a state of arousal. Why was her body so excited? Or was this from before? Suddenly realisation dawned on the male eva pilot as he worked out the redhead's grumpiness was due to the interruption; she hadn't orgasmed and so had been left unsatisfied. Shinji could understand that she would never ask him to finish feeling her up, but decided she was cranky enough already so he'd do it for her. Reaching down under her skirt, he slipped his fingers inside her panties, feeling how wet she still was, confirming his suspicions.

"Shinji…" was all Asuka said in response, holding his hand in place.

The boy wanted to make a comment about how silly her behaviour had been over something so small but really didn't see the point. Wasting no time, as Misato was in the other room and could pop in at any moment, Shinji swiftly pulled off the redhead's panties. Asuka couldn't help moaning aloud as the young boy began to stimulate her pussy with his fingers. Needing to move fast, Shinji rubbed her clitoris with his thumb while thrusting his other fingers as hard as he could inside her wet cunt. He had to use his other hand to cover her mouth to stifle the loud noises she was making. Fortunately it didn't take long for the redhead to climax as she let out a muffled cry, finally relieved of her aching.

Not wanting to brag or sound pompous by making a comment, Shinji just kissed her gently on the head. Turning around he moved towards the door. "Goodnight Asuka" he said as he walked out of her room, closing the door after him.

A million thoughts were clashing against each other in Asuka's head. She couldn't deny that she liked it when Shinji fucked her, it was apparent that her body gave in to him every time. The thrill that had gone through her body when he had pulled her down to the storage room at school and again when he had carried her to the couch was unlike anything she had felt before. Added to that he would temporarily stop being a whiny little boy and start acting like a man; it pleased her even more that she was the one who brought out his other side, it boost her ego to think she was that sexually attractive. Not to mention the sex was great and he had already gotten so good at it; if it wasn't for her pride she would initiate it more often. But what was also amazing was his gentle side, like he had just shown moments earlier. The boy had damn raped her and received nonstop abuse from her both before and after, there was no reason for him to care about how she felt, yet he still thought about her. All these thoughts seemed to contradict all her previous preconceptions about the boy, making her confused.

The redhead pulled her shirt back on and rolled over to her side. "Maybe he isn't as bad as I thought" Asuka said quietly.

Too tired to think anymore, the young girl went straight to sleep.

* * *

End notes: Shinji acts like himself until he gets a strong urge to have fun with Asuka and it's like taking advantage of her because she won't tell on him, what a situation eh? Anyways if you like how this story is going or you want to say this is rubbish I'm open to all. If you review it will encourage me to write more or stop dependent on your response so don't forget!


	3. A ‘Rude’ Awakening

Author's Notes: Here's the third chapter, now I've read the reviews and I agree. I am a troll! But it had to be done for the story, I love Asuka as well! And to the other comment well all I can say is, it's very difficult to make a completely original story these days. I do appreciate the honesty though. Anyways it's starting to get more romantic for those of you AsukaXShinji fans.

Some notes:

Dummkopf: idiot

Scheisse: shit

A note to say this is the rewritten chapter 3.

* * *

Chapter 3: A 'Rude' Awakening

It was in the middle of the night when Shinji awoke, tired and confused. Groggily opening his eyes he saw it was pitch-black, save for a few beams of moonlight coming through his window. He sighed and then rolled over, trying to get comfortable again so he could fall back to sleep, though he did wonder what had woken him up in the first place. In the deafening silence of the night one noise suddenly broke out; it was the sound of someone sobbing. It had been very quiet and short and Shinji wasn't even sure he had heard right, but what else could have woken him up? Deciding he wasn't going to go back to sleep anytime soon he sat up on his bed, ready to investigate.

The young boy was sure he had heard the noise coming from outside his room so he got out of bed and tiptoed to the door, stumbling in the dark a few times. Opening the door slowly, he peered outside to see…absolutely nothing; albeit how could he see anything in the darkness? Just as Shinji was about to close the door he heard the sob again; it had come from Asuka's room. At discovering the source of the noise, the boy grew confused as to why _Asuka_ would be crying. Curious he crept over to her door and opened it. Entering her room he saw the redhead's figure twisting about in her bed, crying softly.

"No mother, please don't leave me" she said full of sorrow and then started her fits again.

Her usually proud voice was full of such misery that it cut through Shinji's soul like a knife. Added to that, he too had experienced the pain of losing his mother making him feel empathetic. 'I never thought I would see the day where she looks so innocent and vulnerable' he thought. Many conflicting emotions ran through the boy's head; he felt a strong need to comfort the girl, but was also afraid of what she might do if she woke up. As his eyes had adjusted to the darkness now, he could see more clearly the sadness in the redhead's expression and this was enough for him to make a decision. Not really knowing how to comfort her, Shinji moved over to her and picked her up tenderly, making sure not to wake her. Holding the shaking girl in his arms, he gently rocked her and repeatedly whispered "It's ok, everything's alright"

Slowly, he could feel the young girl relaxing in his arms and soon she had settled down. Relieved that she had calmed down and now had a more peaceful expression on her face, he carefully let her down. Just as he was about to move off the bed the redhead held onto him. The male eva pilot was a little confused at Asuka's actions and tried to release her grip on him but only succeeded in either making her move with him or elicit a groan, obviously she wasn't going to let him go. Giving up, Shinji decided he could indulge her tonight and so slid under the covers, lying next to her. Wrapping his arms around her and resting his head against her, Shinji felt strangely at peace as Asuka let out a content sigh. The young boy found it warm and comforting sleeping with the redhead and found himself falling asleep a lot sooner than he thought he would.

* * *

Asuka awoke first in the morning, feeling a little different than usual; unlike most of her other mornings she felt excellent and strangely warm. Finding her bed quite comfortable the redhead didn't want to get up, but knew she would just sleep in if she stayed in any longer. Attempting to sit up, the redhead found herself unable to do so. Confused as to what was binding her, she looked down to see two arms wrapped around her. It took several seconds for the sleepy young girl to realise there was something wrong with that. With all her movement, Shinji had stirred and his hold on her lessened. The young boy then noticed that Asuka was awake.

"Morning beautiful" he said letting go of her.

"What the _hell_ are you doing in my bed you baka?! If Misato sees us she'll chuck a fit!" the redhead whispered loudly, then sat up glaring at the boy.

Shinji scratched his head nervously before replying. "A little hard to believe but I checked on you in the middle of the night and you were having a nightmare. After you had calmed down you wouldn't let go of me, so I stayed" he explained.

"Somehow I don't believe that story, coming from a pervert like you" Asuka replied, "but it doesn't matter now, just get out before Mi-" she started.

The redhead was cut off by Shinji planting a kiss on her lips. Pulling her closer, the young boy wrapped his arms around the girl, holding her tight. Asuka found the prospect of being kissed so warmly in the morning quite to her liking but was a little confused at the boy's actions. After parting the redhead's eyes looked at him curiously, her face puzzled.

"You're just so damn gorgeous" he said smiling at her.

"Enough with stating the obvious already" she said arrogantly, "now get out of my bed" she added.

The young boy obeyed, getting off her bed and standing up. Looking around Shinji noticed Asuka's bra still lying on her desk from the night before and he took it. The male eva pilot then realised the redhead would still be wearing nothing underneath her shirt. The young girl had seen Shinji take her undergarment and got out of her bed to confront him.

"What are you doing Shinji? Give me that and get out of my room already" Asuka ordered.

"I remembered you said you had no bras left, I need to finish the wash so you have some underwear, but I might as well wash all your other dirty clothes at the same time" Shinji replied.

"That's all well and good, but I need that or I'll have nothing to wear" Asuka said pointing at the item he was holding.

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked cheekily.

"Don't annoy me baka, you're wasting time. Just give it to me" she said a little irritated.

Shinji, reluctantly, gave back the bra to the redhead. "Get dressed and sort out your dirty clothes" he announced.

"Hai hai" Asuka replied, taking off her shirt, exposing her bare chest.

The young boy just stood there with his mouth open while the redhead threw the shirt she had just been wearing into a pile of clothes. Asuka noticed him still standing there and turned to face him, placing both arms on her hips.

"What are you still doing here baka? You yourself told me to sort out my dirty clothing. Go prepare the washing machine or whatever" Asuka said annoyed.

Comprehension failed with Shinji; the young girl was giving him a full view of her breasts and being so casual about it. Something stirred inside his pants and he felt his desire burning up again, however with the redhead's glare growing increasingly angrier the young boy forced himself to turn away and exit her room, closing the door behind him. Calming down, the male eva pilot then moved to his room to dress up himself.

After entering his room, he took out his school uniform and proceeded to change into it. It was a strange feeling having spent most of his night in Asuka's room, making his room seem unfamiliar for a moment. Shinji had enjoyed spending the night with the redhead and was beginning to enjoy just spending time with her in general. He loved the way she would react, the way she would look at him and the way she talked with him; Shinji wondered whether he was growing to like the girl.

Shaking his thoughts away, the male eva pilot then sorted his own dirty clothes before moving to the laundry and depositing the clothes there. Walking back to Asuka's room, he opened her door and entered inside. The young girl was still in the middle of dressing up and looked over at the boy as he entered her room.

"The dirty clothes are over there" the girl said pointing towards a pile of dirty clothes before resuming her actions.

The young boy found himself watching the half naked girl dress as he walked over to the pile of clothes and tripped over it accidentally, sending his face into the floor. The loud thump caught the girl's attention and she started laughing as she saw the boy get up with her underwear on his head.

"Jeez you really _are_ a baka and a pervert" the girl said wiping tears from her eyes.

Shinji just turned his head away in embarrassment, taking the items off his head and picking up the pile of clothes while Asuka just shook her head and resumed changing. The young boy decided he would get her back, it was her fault after all; she had been distracting him with her unnaturally sexy body. Plus he really wanted to have some fun with her after having seen her topless.

With that the male eva pilot took the girl's clothes to the laundry and put everything in the washing machine, before starting it. Having the washing taken care of, the young boy then walked over to the kitchen to begin preparing breakfast. Entering the kitchen he noticed a note on the fridge and picked it up to read it.

_Shinji, I'm pulling an all-nighter today so I'll be sleeping in for the morning. Don't bother making me breakfast. Also I will be gone when you come back from school so don't make dinner for me either, I won't come back till the middle of the day tomorrow. Have fun, don't forget your sync test._

_Misato_

'A free afternoon' Shinji thought, 'well apart from one sync test, but still, more than enough time to have some fun.' Putting the note down on the bench top, the young boy then opened the fridge to get food for breakfast. As Misato had gone shopping yesterday, the fridge _was_ full of food, just nothing anyone would find particularly edible. Sighing, Shinji just decided to risk spending two hours in the bathroom and took out some of the instant breakfast food; besides Asuka's stomach could handle more than his even though she complained quite a deal more.

Closing the fridge door, Shinji then began preparing breakfast for himself and Asuka. Something about this morning made the atmosphere seem peaceful; maybe he was feeling better about the incident today. In any case he was feeling much less anxious and tense than yesterday and it seemed that he and Asuka had developed some sort of relationship. Though he suspected it didn't go further than the sex, at least on her part.

As the young boy was lost in thought making their meals, Asuka walked into the dining room, sat down at the table and yawned sleepily. The redhead felt fairly pleasant this morning, she had woken up comfortably and peacefully; she knew she had nightmares and was grateful she was able to get a good night's sleep. Furthermore Shinji was becoming more and more confident; well she supposed anyone who would be having sex with her would gain some self-esteem. Plus Asuka didn't have to take any responsibility and could drop him whenever she felt like it; this really was a nice setup for her. However yesterday had been a close call and she wanted to make sure nothing like that would happen again.

When Shinji had finished making breakfast, he brought the food into the dining room, noticed Asuka and set it down on the table. After the boy sat down, the redhead decided it was better to bring up the issue sooner than later and so spoke up.

"Shinji you need to be more careful, we were almost caught yesterday and you know I don't want Misato to know about this. She's also good at noticing things. She pulled me aside asking if I had masturbated and I had no choice but to say I did so she wouldn't get suspicious" Asuka confessed.

Shinji couldn't help snickering at her admission.

"It's NOT funny dummkopf!" she said angrily.

"Sorry-" he started.

"STOP SAYING THAT!" Asuka shouted at him.

"I didn't mean to almost get exposed yesterday" Shinji said quickly, "I'm so used to Misato coming home later and I forgot we had come home later. Besides you didn't realise she was there either" he added.

"Yeah well excuse me. I was just a tad busy having a horny demon chasing me" she refuted.

This time the young boy broke out into laughter at her comment. "Well this horny demon wasn't satisfied yesterday" he said smirking slightly.

"Don't even think about it Ikari, I want to eat breakfast" she replied.

"I think you'll be saying otherwise soon enough" he replied smiling.

The redhead just gave him a confused look before she began to eat her meal. As soon as the food entered her mouth, the girl's face went pale and she forced herself to swallow it.

"Scheisse! What the fuck is this disgusting rubbish?! Are you trying to kill me Shinji?!" Asuka yelled at the boy, momentarily causing him partial deafness; he had definitely been right about her complaining.

"Unfortunately there was only Misato's food in the fridge" Shinji explained timidly.

"It tastes like freaking plastic and it's all slimy, it's like shoving a condom down my throat!" Asuka shouted back annoyed.

Shinji fought back the almost irresistible urge to say 'and you would know?' "If it makes you feel any better, I have to eat it as well" he replied instead.

"You and I are going grocery shopping after our sync test! This is far from ridiculous" Asuka announced before resuming her meal.

The young boy had come to the conclusion that the redhead definitely had a very good set of vocal chords; no wonder she screamed so loud in bed. The girl in question was making all sorts of faces as she ate the meal and Shinji decided to see what she was making such a fuss about. As the young boy brought the food into his mouth he instantly felt sick; he had to give it to her, she really could handle it better than him. Eating as much as they could, the two teens pushed their bowls aside unable to take anymore.

"That completely ruined my appetite for the day" Asuka remarked.

"I can't understand how Misato can eat it" Shinji replied.

"Speaking of which, why isn't she up yet?" she asked.

The male eva pilot stood up from his seat and began moving back to the kitchen. "She left a note" he answered.

After entering the kitchen he picked up the note from where he had left it and returned to the dining room, handing it to the redhead. Curiously the redhead began reading the handwritten note.

"Oh you must be happy Shinji. We got the whole afternoon free after the sync test" she said sighing. "For some reason I think you're gonna take advantage of this opportunity to do anything you want to me without hindrance" she deduced.

The young boy smiled at her guess; that was probably why he felt so excited about today. "Wow you must be a mind reader Asuka. But don't tell me you're not looking forward to it yourself" he replied.

"Yeah right" the redhead said snorting as she heard him.

However Shinji moved over to the young girl and picked her up gently by the waist before sitting down in her chair and placing her on his lap.

"And what, may I ask, are you doing?" Asuka asked confused.

"I'm getting you back for this morning" he replied kissing her neck tenderly.

The redhead just grumbled but made no move to get off of him. At this the young boy began to stroke her brilliant red hair and brought his other hand up to her breast. At the contact Asuka let out a low moan.

"Not now Shinji" she said, moving his hand down to her waist.

Obeying her request, the boy brought his other hand down to her waist and held her warmly before resting his head on her back. Asuka didn't know why but, she felt strangely at peace like this. Added to that, she found this position quite comfortable and so she relaxed into him. Feeling that the girl was at ease, Shinji pondered what had the redhead in such a good mood. The only time she had been angry today was, understandably, when she had eaten breakfast. The girl was also openly accepting his affection, or perhaps she just couldn't be bothered stopping him. Either way it was a nice feeling, the girl could be much more enjoyable than she usually was. Shinji didn't really want to ruin the mood but he was curious about the redhead's behaviour.

"So Asuka…why are you so happy today?" he asked hesitantly.

The young girl shifted a bit at his question, before elbowing him in the stomach slightly. "Who says I'm happy?" she retorted.

"You seem to be in a good mood, you've been fairly casual and non-hostile towards me and you haven't hit me yet" he answered, "Not that I want you to!" he quickly added.

Asuka paused for a second, thinking about this morning; well she had been a little easy on him today, but she was allowed to be nice to people wasn't she? "Don't tell me you think I'm supposed to behave like a bitch?" she said sarcastically.

"No that's not what I meant! You're just acting differently than usual" he quickly replied.

Well Asuka knew she usually behaved nicer the better she felt. The visit last night had given her some respect for Shinji and she had slept peacefully for the whole night without a nightmare; maybe that was why she was in a good mood.

"I don't have permission to be happy or something?" Asuka asked.

"So you admit it?" he countered.

The redhead fumbled for words as he had caught her. 'Why can't I think straight anymore? I used to be so sharp and decisive, now every time he looks at me I feel so strange,' she thought.

Shinji had noticed her loss for words. "So is there any reason?" he inquired.

"Do I need a reason? Just leave me alone you baka" she replied, wrenching his arms off her waist.

"Who said you could go? I quite like you sitting on my lap and I still want to have some fun" Shinji said wrapping his arms around her waist again and holding her tighter.

"Let me go! I am _not_ in the mood for this!" she shouted at him.

The young boy loved her strong will, she always resisted and always had so much spirit; it seemed like no matter what, she would always fight back. Moving his mouth down to her neck, Shinji then started nuzzle her.

"Come on Shinji, stop this already" she said annoyed, even though she was enjoying his mouth.

"But I want you" he said lustfully.

"I don't want you" she replied, trying to pull free from his grip but it was too strong. Instead she opted to kick him in the legs.

"Ouch Asuka!" he said in pain.

The male eva pilot used his legs to hold hers still, halting her attack.

"God damn it Shinji!" she shouted in frustration.

Turning her head to face his, he kissed her abruptly to silence her. The redhead then pulled his ear sharply, causing the boy to cry out, finishing the kiss.

Shinji nursed his ear as the girl moved to get off. "Maybe you wanted something else" he said reaching under her skirt.

The young girl instantly slapped his hand away. "When will you understand that I don't want to do this now?!" she shouted in irritation.

"But you always say that-" he started.

"Third child!" she said interrupting him.

Shinji hesitated for a second at her tone; Asuka had stopped calling him that nickname ever since the incident. Using the distraction the girl jumped out of his lap, fortunately for them, as Misato had just walked in.

"Didn't you read my note? What's with all the noise? What are you still doing here anyway? It's time for school, get out of here and let me get some sleep" the Major croaked at them furiously.

With that, their guardian tiredly walked back to her room. Shinji almost had a bleeding nose and had to look away; Misato had come into the room wearing almost nothing.

"What did I just say about being careful? You just don't listen, Shinji" she said quietly.

"Well you were the one making the most noise" he countered.

"It was your fault for not listening to me" she countered back.

"It's impossible to understand what you want" Shinji replied with a frown.

"You don't have to understand, you just have to comply" Asuka explained arrogantly.

"Well let's resume where we left off?" Shinji hinted hopefully.

"No, you heard the lady we go to school now" Asuka answered, moving towards the door.

"What about the lunches?" Shinji asked quickly.

"We'll be late. Besides I think I'd rather my taste buds live and go to the school cafeteria instead" Asuka instantly replied.

The young boy just chuckled and the redhead was out the door before he could even say 'wait'. Shinji swiftly went out after her, making sure to lock the door before catching up to her. As the two teens began walking to school together, Asuka started quietly humming to herself. The young girl probably didn't realise it, but she had a small smile plastered on her face as they walked and Shinji was not one to ruin her good mood; it was rare to see Asuka so lighthearted. The young boy reached down to hold her hand and was elated when he felt her fingers entwining with his. The two eva pilots held hands like that for the rest of the trip to school.

When they reached the front gates, Asuka let go of Shinji's hand and they entered the school building. Walking down the corridor they realised there were no students about and quickened their pace; class was about to begin. Opening the door to the classroom the two entered inside just as the bell rang. Quickly moving to their seats, they sat down and Hikari called out her "Rise! Bow! Sit!" beginning the class. At once the teacher began to drone on again about nothing in particular, immediately causing every student to tune him out.

Hikari was curious about the eva pilot's late arrival and so sent a message to Asuka.

_What's with the late arrival Asuka? You're usually earlier._

_Hikari_

Asuka read her friend's message before typing a reply.

_Baka Shinji held me up._

_What did he do?_

_It's not important._

_If you say so_…_how are you today Asuka?_

_I'm just fine, how about you?_

_Great actually, Touji came over to my house yesterday for dinner! Although it was a formal event as my parents invited him inside out of hospitality for helping me carry my groceries. We still had fun talking though._

_Don't tell me you're still interested in that jock._

_Don't call him that, he's real sweet. You just need to get to know him._

_Puh-lease Kaji is the only real guy._

_Really Asuka, I wanted to ask you this yesterday too, but isn't there somebody else you like apart from Kaji?_

For reasons unknown, images of Shinji kissing her came popping into her head and she blushed; was her subconscious suggesting she liked the boy? Well she certainly did like him better than most other boys and she did like the sex she had with him, maybe that's what caused that response to Hikari's question. The redhead shook her head and decided to reply quickly to prevent her friend believing she paused because there was someone she liked. However the ponytailed girl had noticed her blush and delayed response and typed a message before Asuka had finished hers.

_What was that Asuka? Who is it?_

The redhead abruptly cleared the text she had been writing and typed another response to her question.

_It was nothing. There is no one._

_Asuka I saw you blush, don't lie to me. Is it Kensuke?_

Asuka snorted.

"Miss Langley is there something you wanted to add?" the teacher asked.

"No sir" Asuka replied.

The teacher eyed the female eva pilot for a second before continuing his lecture. Hikari instantly typed an apology for getting her singled out.

_Sorry, sorry I was joking._

_Thank God you weren't serious! Next time try not to get me busted! _

_But come on Asuka, who is it that you like? _

_It's none of your business!_

_So you DO like someone._

_God damn it, you're looking too much into it. Just drop the subject already._

_It's Shinji isn't it?_

This time she recalled sitting down in his lap, his mouth nuzzling her neck and his hand cupping her breast and her face flushed at the thoughts. 'Baka Shinji got my body all excited this morning and now it's causing this stupid misunderstanding' she thought annoyed; her body was getting aroused just thinking about it. This conversation was going downhill fast for Asuka as Hikari once again noticed the redhead's behaviour and typed a message.

_I saw that Asuka. I can't believe I guessed correctly._

_Don't jump to conclusions._

_If you like Shinji why do you always put him down and insult him?_

_I DON'T like Shinji._

_Have you done anything with him? _

This time the sex they had in the storage room popped up in her mind and she felt a little embarrassed as she could feel a familiar wetness between her thighs. 'Damn Hikari, she's just ignoring what I'm saying' she thought angrily. Frustrated at the thoughts her friend had evoked, the redhead furiously typed back a reply to stop any further ridiculous questions.

_Look here Hikari, let's get some things straight! Shinji is a baka! I DO NOT like him! I have done NOTHING with him! Stop asking these STUPID questions!_

_Ok, ok relax Asuka. I just thought the idea of you liking Shinji to be cute. But still, what was with all the reactions?_

Asuka sighed at Hikari's persistence and decided there was only one way to stop this conversation.

_Fine I'll tell you, just drop this subject and don't tell ANYONE about this._

_Ok._

_There was one time when I came back from that date with that person you set me up with. I couldn't stand him so I left him waiting in line and came home. Now I was REALLY bored and well I asked Shinji to kiss me just to see what it was like and to pass the time. When you asked those stupid questions I kept remembering that moment, I'm just embarrassed for doing it._

_Wow you and Shinji kissed? What was it like?_

_It was crap, Shinji can't kiss._

Well that particular kiss hadn't been that great, so her statement was half true.

_Somehow I think that's just you speaking, but thanks for telling me! I won't tell anyone I promise!_

_You'd better not._

While Asuka and Hikari had been conversing with each other, Shinji had been talking with Touji and Kensuke as well via a chat room.

_Touji: Yo Shinji what was with the late arrival?_

_Shinji: Just got held up this morning._

_Kensuke: I bet it was that redheaded demon._

_Shinji: Don't call her that._

_Touji: Why? She brings hell on earth every day! She must be a demon!_

_Shinji: Come on she's not that bad._

_Kensuke: Why are you defending her when you take the brunt of her insults?_

_Shinji: I just think you judge her a bit too harshly, she really can be a good person._

Fortunately for them, both Touji and Kensuke snorted quietly just as Asuka did. After the teacher finished reprimanding the redhead, the boys continued their discussion.

_Touji: Boy has she got you whipped Mr. Housewife._

Shinji just sighed.

_Shinji: Why don't we have lunch together today? Just ignore her usual insults and you'll see her good side._

_Kensuke: Well I suppose it wouldn't hurt._

_Touji: Ok fine, but if she chews us out, it's your fault Shinji._

_Shinji: She's in a good mood today, so it won't be too bad if it goes wrong._

_Touji: lol._

_Shinji: By the way, I didn't make any lunches so we'll be going to the school cafeteria today._

_Kensuke: Fine with me._

_Touji: No prob._

The young boy felt a little guilty at having arranged a meeting without Asuka's permission, but he didn't think she would mind and messaged her.

_Me and the other two stooges will join you at lunch at the school cafeteria._

_Fine whatever._

Shinji leaned back in his chair as he waited for the lunch break to arrive. Fortunately the discussion he had had with his friends had taken a good portion of the lesson away and in next to no time the bell had rung, signaling lunchtime. All students piled out of the classroom with Hikari, Asuka, Shinji, Touji and Kensuke moving off in the direction of the school cafeteria to meet up. It didn't take long for the five classmates to walk down the corridor and out of the school building, before heading to the cafeteria. After arriving, only two of them queued up at the line to order, while the other three sat down at a nearby table and took out their lunches. Shinji realised he had never ordered here before and they could end up eating something just as bad as Misato's food. At this revelation he decided to call Touji over, as he was a frequent visitor of the school cafeteria, to help him and Asuka pick out a good meal.

"You know Touji, we could really use your help in choosing a meal from here" Shinji told Touji as he came over.

"Well well. I never thought I'd see the day that Asuka needed help" Touji said teasingly.

"Watch it stooge" Asuka said warningly.

"What happened? Shinji didn't make lunch for you?" Touji continued on, not wasting the chance to make fun of the redhead. Asuka just ignored his taunt, but Touji wasn't finished yet. "Looks like the 'Great' Asuka has to rely on the dumb jock Touji instead" he said mocking her.

The redhead glared at him menacingly before smirking. "It would seem you are taking pride in the fact that you have an inferior taste in food and thus being able to distinguish crap from worse crap" Asuka retorted. "To me it's all crap but thanks for helping me choose the better crap" she added sarcastically.

Shinji quietly sniggered while Touji just frowned; it seemed he never could outsmart the girl. The jock chose not say anything else and showed the two eva pilots what was decent before returning to their table grumbling. Asuka threw her hair back triumphantly before going up and ordering her meal. The young boy just shook his head; maybe this wasn't a good idea after all, he probably wouldn't hear the end of it from his two friends. After the redhead had received her food, she went over to their table while Shinji ordered next. Ordering a pork bun, he then joined the rest of his friends at the table and sat down to eat.

"So…" Asuka started, "what's this all about?" she asked.

"Ask him" both Touji and Kensuke said at the same time, pointing towards Shinji.

The two girls turned their attention towards the male eva pilot and he cursed his friends for putting him in the spotlight. 'They didn't have to make it so obvious that I planned this…' Shinji thought annoyed.

"Ah well…" Shinji said scratching the back of his head, "I just thought it'd be a good idea to just talk together and catch up, because we're all friends you know" he said weakly.

The redhead just raised her eyebrow at his statement. "We're all friends…? Since when did the three stooges become a part of my fan club?" she asked.

"We would never become fans of the demon!" Touji instantly retorted.

Things were really not looking good for Shinji. "A temporary truce is good now and again" Shinji quickly said, preventing it from escalating. "So please Asuka, try to be nice" he requested.

"Why should I listen to you Shinji?" the redhead asked smirking.

"Give it a rest Asuka. I'm sure you want a break from those two insulting you" Shinji answered.

"Fine fine" she replied, waving her hand.

Touji and Kensuke were a little shocked at the redhead's agreement, but then again it could just be a fluke. The occupants of the table settled down after Shinji's intervention and began to eat their lunches.

"We supposedly all came here to talk, but none of you are saying anything" Asuka said breaking the silence.

"Well that's because we actually came here to have a fivesome Asuka" Shinji announced jokingly.

Hikari blushed, while Touji and Kensuke almost chocked on their food. The redhead herself couldn't help but snort in laughter. It was nice to see Asuka so easygoing; she didn't have a scowl or smirk on her face, just a pleasant smile. Despite the silly remark, the other people did notice that Asuka was being a little more friendly than usual and that she looked much more beautiful when she was happy.

"Don't make such crude jokes Shinji, I was being serious" Asuka replied.

"Well you know actually I heard we're having a school play" Hikari said changing the subject.

"Yeah I heard about that too, they're giving out the parts randomly so you won't know who you're playing until they announce it" Kensuke replied.

"I definitely should be the main female character," Asuka said proudly.

"Yeah you're perfect for it" Shinji said sarcastically.

"I've heard that the main female role is a princess, I can't imagine that demon being a princess" Touji retorted.

"Oi you jock, you shouldn't hate me just because I'm cute" Asuka replied sticking her tongue out at Touji.

"Did you forget bad-tempered, annoying, arrogant-" Touji began.

"Touji!" Hikari interrupted.

"What?! I'm only-" Touji started.

"Me and Asuka went to the arcade yesterday!" Shinji blurted out before Touji could finish his sentence or Asuka make any further comments.

Asuka just smacked her forehead with her palm, while Touji and Hikari looked at the male eva pilot curiously as if encouraging him to continue. Shinji suddenly thought maybe it wasn't such a good idea to announce that, even though it was to prevent another fight, and struggled to think of how to continue.

"Yeah it was umm…lots of fun playing games with her" he said weakly.

Asuka just repeatedly beat her forehead against the table; he sounded so stupid.

"So what? What has that got to do with anything?" Touji asked confused.

"Well, how can you have fun with a bad-tempered, annoying and arrogant person?" Shinji replied.

"You don't need to defend me baka, I don't care about what he thinks" Asuka remarked.

"What's this? You don't want people seeing you as a nice person?" Touji asked bewildered.

"No it's not like that!" Asuka refuted blushing slightly.

"So Shinji, anything else happen? She didn't happen to also feed a homeless man or something?" Touji said grinning.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Asuka shouted.

"Spill the details Shinji" Touji pressured.

"There was nothing like that, just a fight with Kensuke and that's all" Shinji answered.

"She had a fight? Guess it was too good to be true" Touji said victoriously.

"Actually" Kensuke started and Touji turned to face the military otaku. "I was surprised myself, but she apologised after beating me up" Kensuke finished.

Touji couldn't help but start cackling and then bursting into laughter. "You're kidding me right? The 'Great' Asuka beats up Kensuke and then begs for forgiveness? I can't even imagine Asuka saying sorry" he said.

"I didn't beg you moron and I was just thinking that maybe he didn't deserve _all_ of my punishment, nothing else" Asuka stated with finality.

"Well it's good to know you're not a heartless bitch" Touji replied.

"Touji!" Hikari shouted again, this time pinching his ear.

"Owww! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" the jock said frantically.

The ponytailed girl released her grip on the boy's ear. "This is meant to be a truce yet you just keep insulting her" Hikari said looking at Touji sternly.

"It was a joke ok? I was just a little surprised to hear about Asuka apologising" Touji replied.

"Well it's all fine now anyway" Shinji said, calming down the situation again; although the boy thought that it was pretty much a lost cause now. No doubt Touji and Kensuke would just rub it in his face about Asuka.

Just then the bell rang, interrupting their session. The classmates got up from the table before heading off back inside the school building and to their classroom. After the students had all shuffled inside their classroom and back to their desks, the teacher walked into the room and the class resumed. Even though Shinji didn't really want to hear his friends go off at him, it was better than listening to the boring lecture so he together with Touji and Kensuke joined their chat room again.

_Touji: You know I thought Asuka was kinda funny today. If you don't treat her insults seriously, it's quite humorous._

_Kensuke: Well I have to say that when you make her smile she looks almost angelic._

_Touji: Heh pity she isn't one. _

_Shinji: Oh I thought you guys were gonna go off at me._

_Touji: Nah Asuka was nicer than usual, she even agreed to sit down and have lunch with us and she only made comments when we did._

_Kensuke: Truth is I had forgotten about yesterday as well so I suppose you were right Shinji._

_Shinji: Yeah I guess I was._

Then Touji and Kensuke left the chat room and entered another one and invited Hikari to it. The ponytailed girl was a little surprised but decided to check it out and joined the chat room.

_Touji: Hey class rep._

_Hikari: Oh hello Aida and Suzuhara._

_Touji: Sorry about this but I just think there's something weird going on. _

_Kensuke: Yeah Asuka and Shinji are acting a little strange._

_Hikari: Well yes actually, Asuka behaved quite friendly towards Shinji and even I have to admit she is stubborn and hearing that she apologised shocked me also._

_Touji: And Shinji just happens to suggest lunch together and Asuka agrees? I mean just yesterday Asuka was in a foul mood and today she's all nice?_

_Hikari: Speaking of yesterday, Asuka went off at lunch by herself without telling me and later told me she had been with Shinji discussing something with the principal, but it didn't sound convincing. Besides she always tells me if she isn't going to have lunch with me._

_Kensuke: That's strange. Shinji told me yesterday he had done a teacher's errand. Something doesn't add up._

_Touji: Sounds suspicious, I say we go to their apartment after their sync test._

_Kensuke: Agreed._

_Hikari: Can't we just ask them?_

_Touji: No, they will never tell us. We must catch them unprepared._

_Hikari: You have a point. Alright then we'll go to their apartment later today then._

_Kensuke: Ok._

_Touji: Ok._

The male eva pilot had noticed that Touji and Kensuke still seemed to be conversing with each other even though they had left the chat room, but thought it probably wasn't important. Besides the only thing Shinji was thinking about now was what he would do after the sync test; they hadn't yet had a chance to take it slow, every time they had had sex they were in a rush or were interrupted. Countless thoughts of different situations and positions that he and Asuka could be in filled his head; regardless of how much of a gentleman Shinji was, he was still a teenage boy. Fortunately for him, he lost track of time thanks to his imagination. His fantasy was interrupted by the high-pitched ringing of the school bell. Despite being slightly annoyed at the interruption, Shinji was grateful that school was finally over. As always the feeling was mutual with the other students as they rushed out of the classroom.

Not really eager to rush to the sync test, Shinji let the other classmates push through the doorway before he exited the classroom himself. Walking down the corridor the young boy soon exited the school building and found Asuka waiting for him at the front gates. As the redhead noticed the boy she turned around and began to head off to Nerv. Moving up beside Asuka, the young boy attempted to hold her hand again only to have her pull her hand away. Shinji gave the young girl a confused look and she just sighed.

"You know, recently Ritsuko has been testing me many times. If she tests me at Nerv today, she will probably discover I'm not a virgin, she's very detailed after all" Asuka confessed.

Shinji paused at her comment momentarily. "Is that really a problem?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes of course it's a problem you baka!" she shouted at him annoyed. "Nerv always want to know everything that goes on with the pilot's lives, she will want to know who the partner is" she explained.

"How will they know who it is?" Shinji asked.

"Ritsuko isn't dumb and Nerv has the technology, she can just compare sperm samples or something" Asuka replied.

The young boy gulped; he wondered if Ritsuko could also find out if Asuka had been raped or not, but even more pressing was what she would do if she found out they had had sex.

"Let's hope they don't test you today then" Shinji said doubtfully.

"Yeah right, and what do you care anyway, it's embarrassing for me only" Asuka said irritated.

"Well it's not like I don't care about you" he started, "err I mean…um it's just that…" he stammered after realising what he had just said; he had just confessed to caring about her.

Asuka just looked at him strangely before shaking her head and moving on ahead. The male eva pilot just followed after the redhead in silence, pondering about what he had admitted. Did he really care about her? All he knew was that he wouldn't want her to have to go through any extra hardship because of something stupid _he_ did; finding out that he and Asuka had sex wouldn't mean they would find out it had been forced, but it would be extremely embarrassing for Asuka. His thoughts were just confusing him, surely it wasn't a bad thing if he cared for her anyway.

Looking up he could see they were already at Nerv. Entering the building they both took out their pass cards and swiped them through the machine before heading down the corridor. Walking to the elevator, they went inside and pressed the floor number for the changing rooms. The redhead tapped her heel while the elevator descended.

"So what was the real reason for us meeting at lunch?" Asuka said breaking the silence without moving her head.

"There was no ulterior motive" Shinji answered quickly.

"Oh really?" Asuka said looking up at him.

"Um yeah, I enjoy lunchtime with you Asuka, but also with my friends, so if we all have lunch together it solves both problems simultaneously" Shinji explained scratching his head.

"Uh-huh" the redhead replied, not sounding convinced.

The elevator doors opened, saving Shinji from any further explaining as the two eva pilots exited the elevator. Going straight to the changing rooms, the two teens began to change into their plugsuits. Asuka didn't even bother putting up the privacy screen; he'd already seen her naked so there really wasn't a point. The young boy finished changing first and found himself watching the female eva pilot change. Asuka noticed of course and sighed, unable to help her face going a little red.

"Would you stop staring already you pervert!" she said annoyed.

The male eva pilot looked away, fearing Asuka's wrath. However as he looked away he realised someone was missing.

"Wait, where's Rei?" Shinji asked.

The young girl looked around at his question, unable to find the blue haired girl.

"She's not here, she must already be at the eva cages" Asuka replied.

"That gives us a little time to have some fun then" Shinji said smirking.

The redhead just looked up and glared at the boy. "You have the whole afternoon after this and you can't wait? Not to mention how incredibly stupid it is to do it at Nerv, we could easily get caught you baka" Asuka refuted.

"I find it very difficult to hold myself back" he said trying to be flirtatious.

The redhead just raised her eyebrow at him before shaking her head. The soft swoosh of the plugsuit becoming skintight could be heard as Asuka pressed the button on her wrist. Just as the redhead had suited up, Rei entered the changing rooms preventing any actions Shinji could have taken.

"Pilots Sohryu and Ikari report to the eva cages immediately" Rei announced and left the room without another word.

"You see Shinji, we could have been caught" Asuka told Shinji after waiting a bit.

"I think you're being just a little paranoid, we won't get caught" Shinji replied.

The young girl just growled in irritation and stormed out of the room. Shinji followed after her and headed towards the eva cages to do the sync test. The redhead was walking fast to keep ahead of Shinji and he didn't really see a point in trying to catch up; they were about to have a sync test after all. When the two roommates arrived, the P.A came to life.

"Please enter your entry plugs so we can begin the sync test" Ritsuko Akagi said over the P.A.

As Asuka had recently been getting low scores in the sync tests, Shinji wondered how the incident had affected her. He noticed the redhead was a little hesitant before she went over to her entry plug and entered it. Not wasting any more time Shinji did the same; Rei was already in hers. After closing his hatch and feeling the LCL fill up his entry plug, he waited for the test to commence.

The bridge techs had everything ready to go and gave the ok. "Lowering entry plugs" Ritsuko announced.

All three eva pilots closed their eyes and began concentrating, thus began the test. Shinji tried to empty his thoughts, but found it very difficult; he kept thinking about how Asuka would do. As the three children were engaged Maya was checking the charts, analysing the data and making sure everything was steady.

"Waiting for a stable sync ratio" Maya commented, noting the fluctuating numbers.

The bridge crew waited patiently for the pilots to synchronise with their evas as it always took a bit of time. Ritsuko was studying the pilot's faces up on the screen intently while they waited.

"Rei's sync ratio has stabilised at 50 percent," Maya announced.

"And what of the other pilots?" Ritsuko asked, looking away from the screen.

"Asuka's sync ratio jumped up to 78 percent and began dropping, it still hasn't stopped decreasing. Shinji hasn't stabilised yet" Maya answered.

Ritsuko moved over to speak to the second child. "What's wrong today Asuka?" the doctor asked. Recently this had become Ritsuko's typical question to Asuka as the redhead always made up some excuse for her lowering sync ratio.

"Nothing" Asuka replied.

"Are you sure? There's definitely something wrong if your sync ratio has lowered again" Ritsuko said.

"What?" Asuka asked surprised. "But I honestly felt better today…" the redhead started before trailing off. It was clear that the young girl was not pleased.

"Shinji's sync ratio has stabilised at 87.9 percent and Asuka's at 68.4 percent" Maya interrupted.

"Did you hear that Asuka?" Ritsuko asked, "Shinji is beating you by a huge margin"

The redhead just grumbled at the doctor's remark. 'Of course stupid Shinji would be happy after fucking me. Damn bastard has even screwed up my sync test. I'm clearly the better pilot, why doesn't this stupid toy work?' she thought angrily.

The young boy had overheard the conversation, well he had been curious about Asuka's results, and it would seem things were not looking good. The guilt of the incident was only spreading more now, but he couldn't understand why her sync ratio was lower today; today was the first time she had smiled in a long time. Hoping he wasn't causing her lowered sync ratio, Shinji decided to try and talk to the girl and so opened a communications channel to her eva.

"You know Asuka…" Shinji started.

Normally they didn't allow the pilots to converse or distract each other during the tests, but Asuka's sync ratio was already low so the bridge crew just paused to listen to what the boy would say.

"What do you want baka?" Asuka replied grumpily.

"You don't want to be beaten by me do you?" he asked.

"Are you trying to piss me off third child?" Asuka snarled.

"Asuka we all know you're the better pilot, your score should at least be close to mine" he replied, ignoring her remark.

"Well sorry that I can't beat the Invincible Shinji" Asuka rebuked.

"Before you would never get discouraged, never give up. Just because you've stumbled for a moment, doesn't mean you've fallen. Surely you can remember how you felt when you were at the top" Shinji continued.

"It's all your fault! Stop trying to make yourself feel better Ikari!" Asuka snapped at him.

The male eva pilot didn't know how to reply to that. Asuka was blaming him for her low sync ratio, her pride would never allow her to admit it was her fault; he knew this from the beginning, so what was he trying to achieve? Deciding he couldn't make her any angrier the young boy decided to try again, after all she was at least responding so it could help her to realise her problem.

"Forget about if it's my fault or someone else's fault, that doesn't matter at the moment. When you beat me in the arcade games yesterday, if I had done something to piss you off earlier you would still have easily beaten me. I wasn't mocking you earlier, I know you can easily beat me in evas as well, so prove it to me" Shinji finished.

"Don't you feel so high and mighty today Shinji? Arcade games and evas are quite different, don't give me such a lame example. I don't need to prove anything to you either!" Asuka refuted.

This time Shinji didn't respond, in truth there was nothing else he could really say.

"Oh you got nothing to say now huh? Just because you got such a great score and everyone praises you for it, don't get so bigheaded. And I certainly don't need your pity! Me and my eva together are easily stronger than you, this test doesn't prove anything!"

"Asuka I don't care about the test results, I just don't want you to be replaced!" Shinji blurted out.

There was utter silence for a moment as the young boy's words caught Asuka completely off guard. In the moment of silence, the redhead contemplated the boy's intentions.

"_A little hard to believe but I checked on you in the middle of the night and you were having a nightmare. After you had calmed down you wouldn't let go of me, so I stayed"_

"_Well it's not like I don't care about you"_

'What am I doing arguing like this?' she thought. 'That moron does have a point. I am getting so hung up over nothing, why have I been feeling so bitter even before the incident? I know he's not pitying me, I know I am better than this. I don't have to concentrate on anything else. I'll show this baka who's better' she thought smiling.

Asuka started laughing. "You baka Shinji, who said I was going to be replaced huh? Surely the star pilot of Nerv is too important to replace" Asuka said arrogantly.

"Asuka's sync ratio has jumped to 96.7 percent! She has overtaken Shinji for the first time in a long while!" Maya announced excitedly.

Shinji sighed in relief, well at least this proved she wasn't completely depressed because of what he had done to her and a great burden was lifted off of his shoulders; plus it seemed she had resolved something within herself.

"I never doubted you for a second Asuka" Shinji replied happily.

"Shinji's sync ratio has just moved up to 93.8 percent!" Maya announced again.

The doctor smiled, both pilots had extremely high sync ratios; this was the only good news in a long time. Thus being in a good mood, Ritsuko decided she would let the argument slide and reward the pilots.

"Good job, both of you. As a reward you can get off early" Ritsuko told the pilots.

"You should be grateful third child" Asuka said smugly.

"Oh I am" Shinji replied, not just because they would be let off early though.

"Wait a second" a voice called out, causing the excitement to die down.

Everyone turned to face the source of the voice; Misato. The tactical operations director found the prior discussion to be conclusive proof that something was going on between the two roommates. As neither of them wanted to mention what was wrong, she wanted at least to be sure it wasn't anything serious like drug use.

"They've both been acting strangely lately, Ritsuko can you please just test them. I just want to be sure nothing's wrong" Misato requested.

"What?!" both teens said in unison.

"Sorry guys, but I'm a little worried" Misato replied.

"Well you are their guardian Misato, I'll test them" Ritsuko said reluctantly.

"And we were going to get off early for once," Asuka complained.

"I'll make it up to you guys, I promise" Misato said apologetically.

Even Shinji grumbled in irritation, but not just because he wasn't going to leave early; he didn't want Asuka to suffer anymore, especially after she was finally feeling better. Grudgingly, Shinji and Asuka exited their entry plugs and began to head back to the changing rooms. Rei exited her entry plug confused at why they were finishing early but complied anyway. The blue haired girl watched the other two pilots walk off curiously, unable to comprehend their behaviour.

When the two roommates arrived at the changing rooms they went straight to the shower, stripped off their plugsuits and began to wash themselves clean. After washing and drying themselves they changed back into their normal clothes and exited the changing rooms. Walking slowly to Ritsuko's office, both eva pilots found themselves quite reluctant to be tested. Asuka, of course, was far more annoyed and addressed her companion to make sure he knew.

"Well what do you know Shinji, it looks like they'll find out" Asuka said irately.

"Yeah…" was all he said.

"What's wrong? Won't you be glad everyone will find out you fucked me?" she spat.

"Asuka…" he started.

"Just shut up" Asuka said interrupting him, "I don't wanna hear anymore from you today. You've already said enough to aggravate me" she finished.

The young boy decided to stay silent. 'And after all that effort, god I was scared she was gonna kill me afterwards, you just had to ruin it Misato' he thought.

The silence and the poor lightning in the corridor only added to the feeling of gloom. After arriving at Ritsuko's office, Shinji knocked on the door. The two teens waited only a few seconds before the blonde doctor opened the door.

"Come on in" Ritsuko said, ushering the two eva pilots inside.

Shinji and Asuka walked into the office, both feeling anxious; they had no idea what was going to happen to them after the doctor found out Asuka wasn't a virgin. The two teens waited nervously for Ritsuko to begin.

"Alright first I'll take some blood samples" the older female stated as she took out two needles from the cabinet. "Hold out your right arm please" she instructed.

Both pilots held out their right arm and the doctor moved over to Asuka first. A sharp intake of breath could be heard from the redhead as Ritsuko injected one of the needles into Asuka's arm and drew some blood. After finishing with the young girl, the doctor moved over to Shinji and did the same. Having her blood samples, the older woman placed the two needles into an analysing machine for processing. Turning back around to face the two teens she addressed them again.

"Now I'll take a brain scan. Please sit down over there" the blonde woman said motioning towards a chair in the lab connected to her office; as head scientist, she required to have a laboratory within her vicinity.

The young boy chose to sit down in the chair first and the doctor brought a neural scanner down over Shinji's head. Turning on the device Ritsuko then proceeded to record his brain waves. It was only a little while before she finished and turned to face the other teenager.

"Asuka, your turn" Ritsuko declared.

Shinji got up from the chair while Asuka moved over and sat down before Ritsuko brought the neural scanner down over the young girl's head. Ritsuko then recorded Asuka's brain patterns as well. Moving away from her computer and standing up, the doctor adjusted her glasses before addressing the two eva pilots again.

"Now it's time for a physical checkup, Shinji stay here please, Asuka you go back into my office for the moment" the blonde woman requested.

Asuka walked out of the lab and closed the door behind her; the redhead's palms were already sweating. The doctor locked the door before returning to the young boy.

"Alright Shinji remove your clothes" she ordered.

Shinji sighed, he never got used to this; even though she was a doctor, she was still a woman and it felt awkward. The male eva pilot removed his clothes and looked away as Ritsuko checked him over, not wanting to feel any more self-conscious. The doctor checked for any signs of injuries or sickness, making sure the boy was physically ok.

"Apart from a few scratches around your neck I can't see any physical abnormalities and nothing seems to be wrong here. You may put your clothes back on and call Asuka in" Ritsuko said after examining the boy.

'I think Asuka's nails are too sharp' Shinji thought sweat dropping. He then changed back into his clothes before unlocking the door and exiting the lab. As Shinji entered the office, the redhead looked up at him.

"Asuka it's your turn to go in" was all Shinji said before standing aside to let her pass.

The two eva pilots exchanged a short glance before Asuka walked into the lab and shut the door behind her. Hearing the lock click, the young boy then sat down wondering what would happen.

* * *

Asuka tried her best to calm her racing heart as she looked up at the doctor expectantly; it was proving to be difficult with all the adrenalin rushing through her body.

"Remove your clothes please" Ritsuko instructed.

Asuka complied and proceeded to undress. After the redhead was fully bare, the doctor examined the girl in the same fashion she had done to Shinji. As Ritsuko began to examine the young girl's private region, Asuka couldn't help biting her lip; you didn't need to be a doctor to figure out that she wasn't a virgin.

The older woman seemed to pause before speaking up. "Spread your legs further apart Asuka" Ritsuko instructed.

The redhead's face showed signs of obvious discomfort as the doctor did her work. When the doctor stopped, Asuka knew Ritsuko had found out and she readied herself for the questions. The blonde woman stood up, looking at the young girl with a small smirk.

"What have you been doing my naughty little Asuka?" Ritsuko asked teasingly.

"What are you talking about?" Asuka said, trying to feign innocence.

"Well there's nothing physically wrong with you, but there is one difference since the last time I checked you. You are not a virgin. You have had sex, and recently too" Ritsuko replied.

'God damn it, this is not good. I fucking hate you Shinji!' Asuka thought.

"So" Ritsuko said continuing, "I need to know who your partner is"

"Why?" Asuka asked, trying to prevent the doctor finding out who her partner was at least.

"In this day and age STDs and what not are apparent, so I must know who it is. I can't endanger one of our eva pilots" Ritsuko answered.

"Can't you find it out yourself?" Asuka shot back.

"Yes I could but I'll have to get a semen or DNA sample from your vagina, plus most likely it's someone whose samples have not been recorded. It would take forever for me to get a sample from every boy you know and cross analyse each one" Ritsuko replied.

'This could work to my advantage' Asuka thought.

"But first things first, the main point I must stress here is that it is illegal to have underage sex. You are not 16, so you shouldn't even be doing it. That aside, are you using any form of protection? We can't afford to have a pregnant pilot either" Ritsuko asked.

"Well…yes" Asuka answered.

"Are you using condoms?" Ritsuko asked.

"No…it's not a form of protection you know" Asuka replied.

"What do you mean?" Ristuko asked confused.

"It's not important"

"Well I suppose it's not, as long as you're using protection. But I know only condoms protect from STDs so I still must know who your partner is" Ritsuko explained.

"Just do it yourself" Asuka said growing irritated.

"You know there's no point, you can just tell me and spare me _and_ you all the trouble" Ritsuko replied.

Asuka sighed in defeat. "Alright fine I'll tell you. However you must promise not to tell Misato about this and don't report it to the commander, just keep it a secret to yourself" the redhead negotiated.

"What? You can't possibly ask that of me" Ritsuko said refusing.

"Look all you need to know is whether this guy is okay or not. If I tell you, you'll know and there will be no reason to tell anyone else" Asuka explained.

Ritsuko thought to herself quietly before coming to a decision. "Alright, I suppose there's no harm in that. So who is it?" she asked.

Hesitating, Asuka avoided Ritsuko's gaze before speaking. "My partner is…he is…um" she stuttered, finding it to be extremely embarrassing.

"Spit it out already" the doctor said impatiently.

"It's Shinji" Asuka replied quietly.

Ritsuko just looked at the young girl shocked. "Shinji Ikari?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Yes"

"Eva pilot?"

"Yes"

"The one standing right outside this lab?"

"For the final time YES!" Asuka shouted.

"But you always complain about him?" Ritsuko said, unable to understand how the two eva pilots could be sleeping with each other.

"It's complicated and I don't wanna go talking about relationships, you got your information" Asuka replied.

"Well Shinji checks out fine, he doesn't have any STDs so I guess that's a relief. But I can't be sure you're lying, so I'm gonna ask Shinji to come into the room" Ritsuko warned.

"And?" Asuka asked, growing rather tired of this interrogation.

"Well you are naked" Ritsuko pointed out.

"He's seen me naked a dozen times" Asuka replied uncaring.

Hearing this, the doctor unlocked the door to her office and opened it. "Shinji come in now" Ritsuko told him.

The young boy entered the lab but immediately averted his gaze as soon as he saw that Asuka was naked.

"She knows baka, you don't have to pretend" Asuka said rolling her eyes.

"Oh" was all he said in reply.

"Is it true that you, Shinji, have been having sex with Asuka?" Ritsuko asked seriously.

"Yes" he answered.

"How many times have you had sex?" Ritsuko inquired.

Both eva pilots blushed.

"How is that an important question?!" Asuka refuted.

"She's right, you don't need to know that" Shinji agreed.

"I did want to know if you had only just started dating or if you've been doing it for a while, I don't want Asuka to have a low sync ratio like before, I think that argument during the sync test is good proof your relationship can affect your results" Ritsuko explained.

"We only started recently, I had a low sync ratio because of…another reason" Asuka replied.

The blonde woman looked at the redhead curiously but chose to dismiss it. "Well this is most unexpected, a relationship like this between you two of all people. There's still one problem though" Ritsuko noted.

"What's that?" Shinji asked.

"You're underage for sex" Ritsuko answered.

The young boy's eyes widened as he realised what she said was true.

The doctor noticed the look on the boy's face and sighed. "However, now that you two have begun you probably don't want to stop. I can't risk separating you two, who knows how you might react, so I'm going to have to allow you to continue" Ritsuko began. "You must keep this a secret though, don't let anyone find out. Thanks to Asuka I won't be telling Misato or reporting this to the commander" she added.

Shinji looked at Asuka, who just shrugged.

"Well anyway I need to go check your blood samples. I'll be gone for about 10 minutes, do whatever you want," the doctor said winking at Shinji. With that she walked out of the lab and closed the door.

"Well that wasn't so bad" Shinji remarked.

"Yeah right! That was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life, you are such a dickhead!" Asuka yelled at him.

"At least we won't be separated or anything" Shinji replied timidly.

"Oh yea, just my luck. I'm_ so_ grateful for being able to stay with you even longer" Asuka said sarcastically.

With Ritsuko having found out the truth, the situation was much calmer now and the redhead's adrenalin went down, causing her to shiver in the sudden cold; she was naked after all. At this the young boy moved over to the redhead.

"Don't tell me you're going to listen to that perverted doctor?!" the redhead said backing away slightly.

The boy chuckled and shook his head. "Relax Asuka I was just going to hug you" he said, wrapping his arms around the girl and embracing her.

"Well knowing you…I have to be careful" Asuka replied, resting her head on his shoulder.

Shinji moved his hand up and down her bare back, soothing her. He liked the feel of her spine and all the bumps and curves. The young girl relaxed in his embrace, grateful for the warmth. The young boy decided now would be a good time to ask about their current situation, considering everything that had happened today.

"Asuka" he started, "what do you think of our relationship?" he asked seriously.

At this question the redhead brought her hands up to Shinji's waist and jabbed him in the ribs.

"Aah" Shinji cried out.

"You just have to ask the most stupid questions don't you?" Asuka replied, shoving the boy away.

"It's not stupid! We have sort of become a couple now, or at least it seems like that to me. But that's exactly my point. With everything's that happened, especially today, where do we stand?" he asked.

The redhead opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, unable to think of what to say. Blushing a little she turned to face the boy. "I'll admit I enjoy the sex and…believe it or not, the little foreplay as well. I mean I don't want to do it, but the risk of being caught makes it a little more exciting. That's all it is though, nothing else" she answered, before looking away.

Though he found her embarrassment to be extremely cute, Shinji couldn't help sighing internally; either she was telling the truth or she was too stubborn to admit any feelings, just using the old 'I'm a teenager' excuse. Thinking about it though, Asuka most likely was only in it for the sex; although that admission alone was a big step for Asuka and he was willing to leave it at that for the moment.

The young boy turned Asuka's face towards him and lifted her chin up to face him. The redhead had a confused look on her face as Shinji brought his lips down onto hers and kissed her passionately. The young girl felt a tingling sensation down her spine as they kissed and she brought her arms around him, returning the affection. At this, Shinji slipped his tongue inside her mouth deepening the kiss. Asuka couldn't understand Shinji's response; he still wished to continue with her even after hearing what she had said. If Asuka had heard that from her partner she would have ended the relationship, it was like saying I'm only with you for sex. It also made her wonder why she let him continue with it, she should just end the 'relationship' and crush all hope Shinji had about being with her; after all it would only cause Shinji pain later on…and her as well. Maybe she was just selfish, maybe she didn't really care but for the moment she would enjoy it.

"Ahem am I interrupting something?" Ritsuko said playfully.

At once Shinji and Asuka parted, both blushing.

"Don't be embarrassed, it's alright" Ritsuko said smiling. "Anyway I've come back with the results. Asuka you're fine, as for Shinji there's something awkward about your blood" Ritsuko announced.

"And what's that?" Shinji asked curiously.

"You're blood has extremely high levels of testosterone and I've discovered traces of the 'confidence drug' in your system. Now this obviously means someone is dumping hormones into your body, effectively increasing your sex drive. I will investigate this and try to find out how you are being drugged. Knowing what you two were like before, I wouldn't be surprised if Shinji forced you the first time. Having a little more strength because of the extra testosterone would have helped with that too" Ritsuko explained.

They both just stayed silent. Asuka was far more shocked to hear this information than Shinji. Thinking over this information, it would appear that his increased confidence was nothing short of a few drugs, she wasn't the one who brought it out. Furthermore someone else had obviously done this intentionally, for what purpose was unknown, but she had gotten raped because of it. She felt worthless right then, like she was being used and she felt her knees go weak.

'That horny bastard was just pumped up full of hormones, all his actions were just fake. Well I shoulda known Shinji wasn't one to stand up for himself…' Asuka thought.

"Anyway, I promise I will look into this, other than that everything is ok" Ritsuko said, interrupting the redhead's thoughts. "Oh and I need a demonstration" Ritsuko added.

"What?!" they both said alarmed.

"I have to know if you're not lying about your partner Asuka, it is very easy for you to use someone like Shinji" Ritsuko replied.

'Everyone thinks _I'm_ the bad girl, I guess everyone's too used to good little Shinji' Asuka thought venomously. "No way, I don't care if you're a doctor it is simply not happening!" she refuted.

"Relax I was kidding" Ritsuko said laughing. "Anyway you're free to go now, so I'll go make up something to say to Misato"

"Finally" Asuka let out and quickly dressed herself.

"Though personally, I thought you'd go for Rei" Ritsuko told Shinji.

"No way, Asuka is so much hotter and at least I can have a decent conversation when I talk to her" Shinji replied instantly.

Asuka felt the corners of her mouth moving upwards at the compliment, but she forced her scowl back; she did not want to feel happy about Shinji at all. Though she had always wondered whom he thought of as better and that just answered her question.

Ritsuko chuckled at his reply. "Good luck you two, I hope it turns out well" the doctor said waving them off.

The two eva pilots left the office, both feeling relieved; there was no danger of them being discovered, though Asuka was still quite troubled after hearing the news about Shinji's blood.

"Well at least we're safe from being discovered" the young boy said breaking the silence between them.

"Yeah fuck you, she thinks we're a 'lovely' couple and she kept thinking I was the bad one, when it was you who raped me" Asuka spat.

The young boy was slightly taken aback at her response. "Asuka are you really still upset about that incident?" he asked. "I don't mean that it wasn't a serious event, it's just you seemed to be over it is all" he added quickly.

"Losing my virginity is supposed to be a special occasion, how can I forgive you for that?! Furthermore it was because of some stupid fuck who decided to dump some drugs into you!" she shouted at him, unable to contain her rage.

Understanding dawned upon Shinji as he realised what she was upset about. The young boy took a breath before replying. "Listen Asuka. I don't care how much I was drugged up, the only thing it did was make me even more crazy about you. The night I raped you was entirely my fault, it was my decision. It all came down to my choice. Nothing could make me do that to you but my own stupidity" Shinji said seriously.

The young girl was shocked by the sincerity of his words and found herself unable to retort. Perhaps she had also been angry about the fact she had admitted to enjoying the sex and then discovered it wasn't because of Shinji himself. But what the boy had just told her, made her feel much better; something about the way he had said it made her realise it was the truth. She didn't seem to question why that revelation made her feel better though.

'Since when did that baka start taking responsibility for his actions?' Asuka thought, her lips twitching slightly.

Uncertain about Asuka's silence, the young boy continued. "Even though it was my fault, I am still truly remorseful about raping you. I really wish I could change the past, but I can't. So I just have to accept my reality and that is that I'm sleeping with the most beautiful girl in the world" Shinji finished.

The redhead fought the smile that threatened to show upon her face and instead glared at the boy. "I get it already baka!" she snapped and then sighed. "I suppose I have to accept my reality too and that is that I'm sleeping with the pathetic, whiny and wimpy Shinji Ikari" she replied sticking her tongue out at him.

The male eva pilot just sweat dropped at her comment and chuckled nervously. "Well anyway, let's just go home already" he replied.

"Yeah, I've put up with enough shit today" the redhead declared.

The two adolescents headed towards the elevator and entered it. Pressing the ground floor number, the elevator doors closed and so began their ascent. It took much of Shinji's will to keep himself from attacking the girl next to him; the only thing really holding him back was the fact that once they were home, he had her all to himself. 'God as soon as everything's ok again, I start thinking about screwing her. Maybe I really am perverted' Shinji thought. The young girl was completely oblivious to Shinji's internal struggle and just tapped her heel, waiting for the elevator to arrive at their floor.

As the elevator reached its destination, the doors opened and the two eva pilots exited the elevator. They headed down the corridor and then departed Nerv, finally free for the rest of the day. The two roommates began their journey back to the apartment in silence. The sky was a little darker than when they had entered Nerv and there were very little clouds. There were still many people out and about everywhere and the roads were full of traffic though.

"Hey we need to buy some proper food remember?" Asuka announced as she noticed a grocery shop while they were walking.

"Thank God you remembered, we would have had to eat Misato's food again" Shinji replied.

"Let's go in then" Asuka said, moving towards the shop.

The two teens entered the grocery shop and began to look around. Both Shinji and Asuka took several items off the shelves, making sure to have a good supply so they wouldn't have to go through this morning's situation again. Deciding they had enough, they took their items to the counter and paid for them. They exited the shop with Shinji carrying their purchases and remained silent for the rest of the journey back to their apartment; they had said enough to each other today anyway.

As their arrived at their apartment, they entered the front door and took the elevator as they were both a little tired from the day's events. Shinji found himself impatiently waiting for the elevator to reach their level and studied Asuka as he was waiting.

The young girl noticed his gaze and flicked him on the forehead. "You're staring baka" she stated.

The young boy was about to drop his bags and push her up against the wall, when the elevator doors opened with a 'ping.' As the two eva pilots exited the elevator and moved towards their door, Shinji repeatedly told himself that they were almost inside their residence. The male eva pilot gave his keys to Asuka who unlocked the door, opened it and entered in first. Shinji went in next and closed the door behind him.

Asuka slowly walked towards her room while Shinji rushed to the kitchen and shoved the bags inside the fridge. As soon as the boy closed the fridge door, he lost all of his self-control. Now Asuka knew that Shinji was going to try something after they got home, but she had not expected that he had been so desperately waiting to screw her and that he would try to do so as soon as they arrived back home. So it came as a complete surprise when she felt her feet lifted off the ground as the young boy picked her up.

"What the hell?!" she let out confused.

"I'm not going to waste a single second so get ready" Shinji replied.

"Already?! Let me rest a little bit first!" Asuka said wriggling in his hold.

"Since when does the great Sohryu Asuka Langley need to rest?" he teased.

"Since I want to, now let me go!" she demanded.

"I can finally experiment as much as I want to, so too bad but I won't pass up this chance" Shinji said with determination.

Moving over to the living room, he placed Asuka down on the couch and moved on top of her. As the young boy began pulling off the girl's shirt, she sighed in defeat and lifted her arms up to allow him to pull it off. Shinji began kissing the redhead, moving his mouth down the contours of her neck. The young girl moaned as he moved his hand down to her breast, fondling her chest softly. Slowly the male eva pilot began to move his lips down to her shoulders and then further down her body. His other hand was playfully tracing circles on her stomach while his fondling grew more intense. Asuka could feel herself growing excited and found it embarrassing how easily this boy could make her feel like this; not too long ago she had been extremely pissed at him and here she was opening her legs for him.

The doorbell rang out through the apartment and without thinking Shinji called out "Who is-" before cutting himself off, realising what he was doing. 'Shit, why in the hell did I call out? Who the hell is it? Did they hear me?' Shinji thought.

Unfortunately for him the people at the door had heard his short response. "It's me, Kensuke and Hikari" a voice shouted out, a voice that could be no one but Touji.

"Oh great work Shinji" Asuka said sarcastically.

Shinji just smacked his forehead with his palm before responding. "I'll open the door, just wait a sex, err I mean sec" Shinji called out.

The young girl couldn't help sniggering a little at his slipup. The male eva pilot got off the girl and headed over to the front door while Asuka picked up her shirt and pulled it over her head. Making sure Asuka was dressed Shinji then opened the door and saw his three classmates standing outside looking a little nervous.

"Hello everyone" Shinji greeted.

"Hey Shinji" they all replied.

"Is Asuka home as well?" Hikari asked.

"Yeah she is so come on in" Shinji replied waving them inside.

Truth be told, Shinji would have rather closed the door on them, but he didn't want to be rude and refuse them entry. The young boy closed the door when they had all entered. At hearing the door close, the redhead got up from the couch in the living room and began to walk towards them.

"Who are our visitors Shinji?" Asuka asked as she walked.

"It's your 'friends'," Touji replied back mockingly.

The redhead finally had the three guests in her sight and made an unimpressed face towards the jock. "Oi Shinji, why did you let that moron inside?" Asuka asked annoyed.

"Who you calling moron?!" Touji snapped angrily.

"We didn't come here for fighting" Hikari said sternly, glaring at Touji. "Hello Asuka" she said turning to greet her friend.

"Hey Hikari! Why are you all here for?" the redhead replied.

"Let's sit down to talk, we'll discuss it then" Hikari answered.

"Alright then" Asuka said turning around.

They all followed Asuka as she walked to the dining room and sat down at the table. Hikari sat down next to Asuka, while Touji and Kensuke sat next to each other on the opposite side of the table with Shinji sitting in between Asuka and Kensuke.

"Does anyone want something to drink or eat?" Shinji asked politely.

All four heads shook left and right in response.

"So…" Asuka started, "what brings you guys here?" she asked.

"We just wanted to talk to you guys," Touji answered.

"There's an invention called the phone" Asuka remarked.

"In person" Kensuke added.

"Is this a bad time?" Hikari asked in response to Asuka's comment.

"No it's fine but, you usually don't come to our house just to talk and you tell us beforehand as well" Asuka replied.

"Well you guys left before you could check your parts in the play. We figured we should tell you your parts, so we checked them for you" Touji declared.

"So what are everyone's parts?" Asuka asked.

"Asuka, unbelievably, you are the main female character, the princess. Shinji you're the main male character, a knight if I remember correctly. As for us three, I'm the system's operator, Touji is a bandit and Hikari is a nun" Kensuke answered.

"How interesting, I think the parts we received are certainly ironic" Asuka said sniggering.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Touji let out; certain she was insulting him somehow.

"Well that is certainly unexpected, I never thought I would have gotten the male lead" Shinji said changing the subject, not wanting anything to erupt.

"Though considering our roles, I wonder what this play is even about" Hikari commented.

"Why do we have to even do it? It'll just be a waste of time" Asuka remarked.

"Plays can be fun Asuka. You never know, you might enjoy acting" Hikari replied.

'She's acting everyday…' Shinji thought.

"It's just a waste of my skill to use it on a pathetic little school play" Asuka said arrogantly.

"We have yet to see" Touji retorted.

"And you'll be amazed by my acting too. You won't question why I was given the female lead" Asuka refuted smugly.

"Guys, was there anything else you wanted to discuss while we were here?" Shinji said quickly, preventing another fight; he seemed to be preventing quarrels between Asuka and Touji all day.

"Well actually now that you mention it, there's a school event next week. They're hosting a school dance, you can't enter without a partner though, but I really want to go. They'll have good music, a big dance floor and nice refreshments" Hikari said excitedly.

"Sounds great, but is there any guy you'd want to go with? It just seems like an excuse for the guys to get girls to go somewhere with them" Asuka replied.

The ponytailed girl blushed for a moment. "Well I-I do have…someone in mind, but I haven't decided whether I'll go or not" she stammered.

"Oh? Who's the lucky guy?" Asuka asked curious.

"What about you Asuka? Who would you go with?" Hikari asked, not wanting to answer the redhead's question.

"Oh too embarrassed to tell?" Asuka teased. "Well there's no guy worthy of going with me, so I probably won't go" she answered.

"Oh but I'd like you to come Asuka, I mean that is if I decide to go. Anyway just think about it" Hikari replied.

"Fine fine" the redhead said throwing her hands up.

There was a moment of silence as the occupants of the table, couldn't think of anything to say. Hikari, Touji and Kensuke had come here to catch the two eva pilots off guard, but everything seemed normal and they couldn't really justify their stay much longer. Kensuke decided on one last attempt to reveal any information but if it didn't work they would leave; they could be wrong after all.

"So what were you two up to before we came?" Kensuke asked.

"What do you mean?" Asuka asked, narrowing her eyes at the boy.

"What were you doing here before we came?" Kensuke answered.

"You make it sound like we were doing something naughty. It was just the usual day, baka Shinji listening to his depressive music and I was reading a book in the living room" Asuka replied.

There was another moment of silence as yet again they couldn't think of anything to say.

"Well I think we better get going now, that was all we wanted to discuss anyway" Hikari said breaking the silence.

"Yeah we should get back home" Touji agreed.

All five teenagers stood up from the table.

"Thanks for having us" Hikari said bowing.

"It was no problem" Shinji and Asuka said in sync, surprising the others slightly.

"We'll be going then" Kensuke stated.

All five of them walked towards the front door, before Shinji opened it. Touji, Hikari and Kensuke walked through the doorway and turned around to face Shinji and Asuka.

"Goodbye, we'll see you on Monday" Hikari said.

"Take care" Asuka replied.

With that Shinji closed the door. When the door closed the three teens looked at each other.

"Well I couldn't see anything unusual about them" Hikari commented.

"Me either, I think we were looking into it too much" Touji agreed.

"Yeah…you're right" Kensuke said, pretending to sound convinced.

As the three began walking off to get back to their houses, Kensuke pondered a bit. The bespectacled boy had noticed one odd thing; Asuka had said that Shinji was listening to his music, so why had he answered their knock and opened the door? As the others hadn't realised this slipup, he didn't see a point in bringing it up. Kensuke decided he would try looking into the matter by himself a little more discreetly.

* * *

After closing the door, Shinji turned to face Asuka. "Now to continue from where we left off" he announced.

"Is that _all_ you think about?" Asuka asked annoyed, folding her arms across her chest.

"I've been waiting for it all day. School, the sync test, Ritsuko's tests and now our friends coming over, that's enough interruptions for today. We're going to finish this now" he replied determinedly.

"Well I've enjoyed the break and I won't mind extending it further" Asuka said sticking out her tongue at Shinji before turning around and heading back to her room.

"Now you're just asking for it" Shinji replied, quickly moving in front of her.

"I was clearly _refusing_ it, not _asking_ for it!" she retorted.

"I don't know why you insist on fighting me so much, even when you know I'm still going to go ahead" Shinji replied.

"It doesn't hurt to try" Asuka said shrugging her shoulders.

The young boy chuckled in response, before pulling the girl in front of him into a kiss. Shinji was sure he could finally take as much time as he wanted now. Pushing Asuka up against a wall, the young boy then pulled off her shirt again and moved his mouth down between her breasts. He rested his hands on her waist while he kissed her and slowly moved them up to her bra. Undoing the clasp, he let her bra fall to the floor revealing her wonderful bosom. With his mouth already at her chest, he brought his mouth onto her nipples and began to bite them softly, tugging at them gently. The redhead moaned in response and held him around his head, pulling him closer.

Shinji then gradually moved his lips further down her body, almost unbearably slow for Asuka. His mouth was soon replaced by his hands as they began to caress her breasts. The young boy stopped at her stomach and teased her belly button with his tongue, causing the redhead to knee Shinji in the chest. The male eva pilot took the hint and stopped fondling her breasts and began to pull down Asuka's skirt instead, revealing her panties. Rubbing her panties softly elicited a moan from Asuka and they soon grew damp from the girl's excitement. The young boy then removed the last bit of clothing on the redhead, making her absolutely bare. Resuming his kissing from where he left off, Shinji soon came upon her mound of red hair, the hairs tickling his face as he kissed her. It didn't take long for the boy to get down to her clitoris, which he immediately stroked playfully with his tongue.

"Shit, why does this feel so good?" Asuka gasped.

The young boy sucked her little nub in response, causing Asuka to squirm in pleasure and press his head into her. Shinji stopped sucking her clit and moved his mouth down to her lower lips, running his tongue up and down her slit. He could feel and taste the redhead's wetness and continued to tease her gently, not wanting to rush. Asuka, however, was a very get straight to the point person and his actions were driving her mad. She growled in frustration as if to express this. Smiling at her behaviour, the young boy finally slipped his tongue inside, pushing deep inside her as she was already quite wet and making her cry out in pleasure. Shinji darted his tongue in and out of her, making sure to stimulate her most sensitive spots.

"Oh God" she moaned sensually.

Deciding she was ready, the male eva pilot halted his actions and stood back up. The young girl looked at him strangely, a mixture of confusion and ecstasy on her face. Shinji abruptly picked Asuka up and carried her over to the dining table, placing her face down onto it.

"Just what the hell are you doing now?" Asuka asked annoyed.

The young boy pulled down his trousers and boxers and positioned his cock at her entrance. "I'm going to fuck you from behind" he answered, grabbing her hips for support.

Without hesitation Shinji, plunged into her pussy and Asuka cried out erotically. The young boy saw no reason to hurry and kept his pace nice and slow.

"This feels slightly different" Asuka remarked.

"Does it feel good?" he asked.

"Well yeah but…at this slow pace I'll never cum" she replied.

"Oh, so you like it rough?" he teased.

"Can't you take a hint Shinji? Just fuck me harder already!" she shouted at the boy blushing; Shinji could not see her blush though.

The young boy chuckled slightly before increasing his speed, Asuka's moans and cries increasing accordingly. Without mercy, Shinji repeatedly shoved his cock in and out of her as hard as he could muster. The young girl found the drastic change in pace difficult to adjust quickly to and found herself arching her back and struggling against the boy. Asuka was being fucked so hard she felt like a whore.

"Ahh…Ahh…Fuck!" she cried out.

"Is this hard enough?" Shinji called out between thrusts.

"You asshole! Oh God! Shit, don't stop!" she replied, barely managing to form the words.

Asuka's cries were growing louder and Shinji could feel he was very close to cumming. The exertion was paying a toll on Shinji as it felt like his legs were going to break. Despite this, he increased his effort in thrusting into her, his mind focused on nothing else. The redhead's mind was just a haze of ecstasy and she no longer formed coherent words as she was fucked relentlessly. Soon, however, the young boy could not hold himself back any longer and he exploded inside of her. Fortunately his discharge pushed Asuka over the edge and she screamed, quite loudly too, as she orgasmed. The young girl's body was twitching uncontrollably as the waves of pleasure hit her and Shinji did his best to keep thrusting into her as she came down from her climax.

When Asuka had finally relaxed, Shinji withdrew his cock and breathed heavily. The young boy could feel his heart pounding in his chest and the heavy sweat that had formed all over his body. Looking down at Asuka's pussy, he could see some of his semen oozing out of it. The sight aroused him even more and his cock jumped to full length again, all covered in Asuka's juices; the young girl herself was breathing erratically.

"You had enough for today?" Shinji asked, noticing Asuka's exhaustion.

"And you'd be willing to leave at that if I said yes?" Asuka replied, turning around and sitting up to face him.

"After waiting all day for a chance like this, probably not" he answered grinning.

"Why did you even ask then you baka?" she replied irritably.

The young boy chuckled at her response. "I was hoping you'd say no" he teased.

"Oh ha" the redhead said sarcastically.

Shinji just kissed Asuka in response and lifted her up, resting her legs on his hips and putting her arms around him. Just a few minutes ago he had thought his legs would shatter, but now a new strength flowed through him as he penetrated her once again. The young girl wrapped her legs around him and gripped onto him tightly as he started again. This time, however, Asuka's cries were much softer as she was quite worn out. Thus Shinji decided to slow down a little and began to kiss her neck gently. The male eva pilot enjoyed the feeling of Asuka's bare breasts pressed against his chest as he thrust into her. The young boy could feel all of Asuka's movements, all of her perspiration and all of her heat.

The two eva pilots made love like that for a while, holding onto each other and exchanging kisses. Eventually Asuka came and, due to her fatigue, fell asleep in the boy's arms. In the end they hadn't tried out many new things and the redhead had fallen asleep; probably due to the fact she hadn't eaten anything since lunch at school as he hadn't. The young boy didn't mind so much though, even with all the interruptions the time had been enjoyable and Asuka had resolved a few things.

The home was darker now as time had passed and seeing as the redhead was already asleep, Shinji saw no reason not to follow suit. He looked down at Asuka's sleeping form and noticed a content smile on her face; she was just so beautiful. The young boy then went to the bathroom and cleaned himself up, doing his best to wash the redhead as well while not waking her up. He also changed her back into her clothes and put his trousers back on. As Shinji was too tired to carry her to his or her room, he just lay down on the couch in the living room and placed her on top of him. The young girl snuggled up against his chest, sighing softly. Shinji found himself smiling as he stroked Asuka's long red hair. Kissing her on the forehead, Shinji then lay his head back and soon fell asleep on the couch with Asuka on his chest. Falling asleep, the young boy's hand fell down and hit the T.V remote on the floor turning on the T.V; though the volume was really quiet so it didn't wake them.

* * *

"Look I know I'm supposed to pull an all-nighter, but I just want to check on the kids. I'll come back I swear" the purple haired woman said anxiously; even though Ritsuko had told her the tests had resulted with nothing wrong, she still just wanted to make sure.

The blonde doctor seemed to think about it for a moment before sighing. "Alright fine, but come straight back" Ritsuko said firmly.

"Don't worry, I will. I'm just checking up on them" Misato replied, eager to have a small break.

"See you soon then" Ritsuko replied sighing.

The Major was practically skipping out of Ritsuko's office as she was finally allowed to leave for a moment; although she really did want to check on her two wards. As she exited Ritsuko's office, Misato stretched before heading to the car pool. Soon the familiar red sports car came into view and the Major quickly entered it. Taking the car elevator to the ground level, she then rode out of Nerv and headed towards her apartment. By now the sky was completely dark and the moon was covered by clouds. All was still and silent save for the lone car driving through the streets; it was dead in the middle of the night after all.

Finding her apartment building, Misato parked her car and turned the ignition off. After locking the car, she entered her apartment and walked over to the elevator and pressed the up button. The elevator doors opened instantly with a 'ping'; it would seem the last person to use it had left it on the ground level. Taking the elevator to her floor, the Major went to her door and unlocked it, before entering her residence. Instantly she could see that, even though it was quite late, the lights were still on in the living room. Curious, the purple haired woman moved over to the living room to check it out.

It didn't take long to find the reason for the lights as she walked into the living room and saw the T.V blaring various images. This, however, was nothing compared to what Misato saw when she looked at the couch and she almost fell over in shock. Lying there were Shinji and Asuka, with the redhead snuggled up against boy. The Major rubbed her eyes and pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming before looking down and noticing the T.V remote on the floor by Shinji's hand. From this Misato deduced that they had both been sitting on the couch watching T.V and had fallen asleep. People instinctively cuddle to the nearest heat source, which was Shinji, explaining Asuka's position; that was Misato's reasoning anyway.

The purple haired woman found the sight adorable and quite fitting and doubted she would ever see them like this again; knowing Asuka she would blame Shinji upon waking up. With this in mind, Misato decided she would take a picture of them; it would be a nice picture to tease them with later. The Major quietly moved to her room and opened the door without a sound. Entering inside her room, Misato went straight for her desk and looked through her drawers until she found her camera. Smiling evilly, the Major then went back to the living room and silently moved in front of them. Aiming her camera at the couch and the two sleeping teenagers, she prayed that the flash would not wake them and took a picture. Misato almost had a heart attack when the redhead shivered, but then realised the girl was just cold; after all they didn't have anything covering them. Pocketing her camera, Misato then took out a blanket from their wardrobe and placed it over them.

Realising she had taken way too long, the Major hurriedly turned the T.V and lights off and exited through the front door. Closing and locking the door, the purple haired woman ran down the stairs and jumped straight into her car, turning the ignition and speeding back to Nerv; thank god there was no one around to crash into. Misato drove into the car elevator when she arrived at Nerv and hoped Ritsuko wouldn't be angry. As the elevator reached her level, she parked the car and rushed back to Ritsuko's office.

"I'm back!" Misato announced opening the door.

"Why are you so late Misato?" the doctor asked slightly irritated.

"Well it's just…" Misato started, "you know what, I'll show you something and you'll understand why I was late" she finished.

Taking out her digital camera, the Major scrolled through her pictures until she found the one she had just taken at the apartment. Handing the camera over to her friend, she showed her the image.

"Look at them! Isn't it just cute? They fell asleep watching the T.V and Asuka snuggled up against Shinji" Misato exclaimed excitedly.

Ritsuko looked at the picture and smiled slightly; they indeed looked cute together.

"Alright Misato I'll let you off this time, now get back to work" the doctor ordered.

"Yes ma'am" Misato replied.

* * *

End Notes: Thank you all those who take the time to read this, and all those who take extra time to review and give me honest criticism, I'm open to all and so please review my work.

Extra Notes: Arrghh this new chapter amazingly became 17000 words. It's close to the length of my final chapter . All I did was make sure it was more in character, make dialogue flow properly and make the side characters more than just plot devices. To think it added on an extra 11000 words heh. And man am I so sick of writing sex scenes! What in the world possessed me to write so many?!


	4. Broken Heart

Authors Notes: This chapter is a lot shorter than the previous one, but I wanted to leave you guys wondering what will happen next :D. Here's where the drama really starts, read and find out what happens.

A note to say this is the rewritten chapter 4.

* * *

Chapter 4: Broken Heart

The redhead awoke in the morning a little disorientated and confused; the atmosphere seemed unfamiliar and her position wasn't her usual sleeping position either. However, the young girl still found herself to be quite comfortable and warm. Shifting her head a bit, Asuka let out a gentle breath of hot air. Suddenly, whatever she was resting on moved, much to the sleepy girl's surprise, before settling down again. Curiously, Asuka poked her head out of the blanket covering her and looked around. It was soon concluded that she was lying on top of Shinji on the couch in the living room with a blanket covering the both of them.

'What in the world happened yesterday? All I remember was getting the brains fucked out of me…' the redhead thought.

The young girl carefully got off Shinji so as not to wake him, causing the blanket to fall to the floor. Just as Asuka was about to move off to the toilet, the young boy instinctively grabbed Asuka as he lost his heat source and pulled her back. Shinji then wrapped his arms around the redhead, making the situation even more difficult; she really needed to go.

"Let go of me baka, unless you want me to piss on you" she hissed.

The boy only grumbled in response.

"Shinji I need to go to the toilet!" she practically shouted.

The male eva pilot still didn't stir. Enraged, the young girl elbowed him in the groin, causing him to grunt and release her. Asuka wasted no time in getting away and out of range, just to be sure he didn't pull her back. Surprisingly, the boy remained asleep on the couch, a pained expression on his face. The redhead quickly entered the toilet, closed the door and relieved herself. After washing her hands, she exited the bathroom and headed back to the living room, determined to get revenge on the boy.

Arriving back into the living room, the young girl rested herself back on top of the boy and he wrapped his arms around her again. It was now that he finally woke up. Shinji stretched a little before noticing that Asuka lay on top of him. Smiling, he stroked her red hair and kissed her on the forehead. The redhead wanted to smack him so badly but she resisted the urge; what she had in store for him was far better. Instead she bound her arms around him.

"Morning Asuka" Shinji said sleepily as he realised she was awake.

The young boy found his position a little uncomfortable, but he didn't mind; he had a beautiful girl sleeping on his chest after all. Soon, however, his rest had to finish as he felt nature's call. Attempting to get up, he found himself unable to do so because of the weight on top of him.

"Asuka can you please move?" he requested.

The redhead almost smiled in triumph and made no move to get off. "I don't wanna, I'm comfortable" she replied.

The young boy tried to pry Asuka off of him but she just held onto him tighter, only causing him frustration.

"Asuka please, I need to go to the toilet" he said a little louder.

"Fine!" she shouted.

Shinji couldn't understand what she was upset about, but he didn't want to deal with it right now; he really needed to go. The redhead, however, had other plans as she reached down to his groin and fondled his cock, making sure he had an erection.

"Now you can go" she said smiling evilly.

After this, Asuka moved off the boy, allowing him to go to the toilet. The young boy just gave her an annoyed look before quickly rushing off to the toilet. However, Shinji found himself unable to take a leak because he was erect. He groaned in frustration; what the hell did Asuka do that for?

"For fucks sake!" Shinji shouted out, being unable to become soft again.

Asuka heard him swear out loud and began rolling on the couch in laughter. The male eva pilot stood there next to the toilet, desperately trying to calm himself; unfortunately, every time he tried to concentrate on something that wasn't stimulating, provocative images always popped into his mind.

"God damn it Asuka! You're so going to get it for this" he shouted again.

The redhead only laughed harder in response. In the end, Shinji had to resort to counting prime numbers and stood there at the toilet for about fifteen minutes before he was finally able to relieve himself. The young boy then washed his hands and exited the bathroom; his face didn't look too pleased. Heading back to the living room, Shinji walked back over to the couch where he could see a still cackling redhead. As he stood over Asuka, the young girl looked up at him smirking.

"What took you so long?" she asked mockingly.

"Playing innocent isn't going to save you Asuka" Shinji replied annoyed.

"Save me from what?" she said pompously.

The young boy just grinned at her before answering her question by shoving his hands under her shirt.

"Jesus Christ! Are you trying to kill me?! Remove your hands!" the redhead yelped, jumping at the contact; his hands were ice cold. It would seem the young boy had left his hands to soak under cold water for a while before exiting the bathroom.

However the young boy only moved his hands further up, making Asuka shiver. The redhead grabbed his hands and tried with all her might to pry them off her. Deciding she had had enough, Shinji removed his hands from under her shirt and instead picked her up to kiss her on the lips. Grateful that he had finally removed his hands from her bare skin, the redhead didn't bother protesting.

"I think that was sufficient punishment" he said after parting.

"Asshole…" she replied, punching him in the chest.

"Come off it! What you did was damn cruel" he refuted.

"Before you woke up I needed to go to the toilet as well, however, you wouldn't let me go. I was merely returning the favour" she explained.

Shinji just shook his head and chuckled. "Oh I'm sorry Asuka" he said playfully, putting on a remorseful face.

"You're such a jerk, you know that!" she said sticking her tongue out at him.

"And you're such a bitch. We make a perfect couple" he retorted.

"Fuck you" she said shoving him off of her.

"You already have" he replied.

At this, Asuka got up and slapped him across the face. "Don't be a smartass" she warned.

Shinji couldn't hold back his laughter at her comment. "And what do you do all the time, you damn hypocrite?" he retorted.

The young girl just glared at him, annoyed at his behaviour; he was acting as if he was her boyfriend. 'How dare he say we're a couple, I knew this baka would start getting the wrong idea about us' she thought.

Oblivious to the redhead's thoughts, Shinji kissed her again; he found her irritated expression to be quite cute. This time, however, the redhead moved away as their lips touched and walked off completely shocking the young boy. For some reason, as Asuka walked away she thought she felt a small pain in her chest. Shinji, completely dumbfounded, just watched the redhead as she went off to her room and closed the door.

"Did I go too far?" Shinji said out loud.

The male eva pilot decided to just ignore it for now and make breakfast as he was sure the young girl would be hungry. Acting upon this decision, the young boy then moved to the kitchen and opened the fridge. He almost cried in relief as he saw the bags of groceries they had bought yesterday; finally he could make a good meal. Taking out several ingredients, Shinji then began to cook breakfast for him and Asuka. Compared to yesterday and the day before that, the young boy felt much better. Asuka had admitted to enjoying the sex, her synch ratio was high and she seemed to have partly forgiven him for the incident; their relationship was looking far better than before, although he wished it hadn't of happened because of what he had done to her.

Shinji continued preparing the breakfast, wondering what Asuka was thinking.

* * *

As the redhead had closed the door, she had felt her heart pounding; was she nervous? It felt like something was off with her, like a part of her was trying to tell her something. Shaking the feeling off, Asuka jumped onto her bed and started thinking over the situation. Asuka was sure the problem was Shinji, she was sure he was to blame for her strange reactions. She could feel him making his way into her life and she didn't like it. But then again she supposed she was to blame, she had been leading him on a little despite the protests she made. In the end she remembered she had initially let this relationship continue so she could relieve her sexual frustration and hurt Shinji, however part of her was now reluctant to make Shinji suffer like that.

Sighing, the young girl also realised the situation would only get harder with time and knew she had to take action. Even though she had grown to like Shinji a little and even gained a little more respect for him, she couldn't have a close relationship, she knew she couldn't. In the end, everyone left her and Shinji was no different, she didn't have to be abandoned again, she could just dump him and forget it ever happened. The only thing holding her back was Shinji's reaction, she couldn't decide when she should break it off with him; she didn't want him to ask her questions or attempt to stay together.

'Oh what the hell am I being so concerned about that baka for? I can tell him to shove off if I want to, he can just go to hell. This doesn't mean anything to me anyway, he had already taken my virginity so it's not like the sex even meant anything' she thought, annoyed at her deliberations. It was her fault this had been dragged out so long and it was her responsibility now to cut off Shinji's hope.

A pleasant aroma interrupted the redhead's thoughts and her stomach grumbled. Asuka then realised she was starving and promptly stood up from her bed to exit her room and head to the dining room where she was sure Shinji was making breakfast. The young girl saw this as an opportunity to reveal the 'breakup,' so as to get it out of the way quickly and so that she did not have to further endure any of his advances.

As Asuka made her way to the dining room, her heart seemed to pound even more; was she really this nervous? The redhead couldn't understand what she felt so anxious about, he was nothing to her. After sitting down at the dining table, the redhead began drumming her fingers on the wooden surface while waiting. It didn't take long for the young boy to finish preparing the breakfast and he entered the dining room with the meal in hand. He smiled when he noticed Asuka sitting down and placed the food down on the table before taking a seat himself.

"It should be much better than yesterday, so don't hesitate to eat" Shinji announced, noticing the redhead didn't dig straight into her meal like usual.

"Mm" was all she said before she started eating.

"Is something wrong Asuka?" he asked concerned.

"I'm fine" she replied.

"That's good to hear, I thought maybe you weren't feeling well or something" Shinji said relieved.

"It's all good" she replied holding back her irritation, she wanted to at least have some food before she blew off at him.

Content with her response, the young boy began eating his breakfast. Asuka couldn't stand his happy behaviour; it's not like he actually had true feelings for her, he was just happy he was fucking a girl as beautiful as her. She had rejected him, told him there was no meaning in their relationship, so why did he act so cheerful when he was with her? What the hell could he like about a girl who constantly slapped and insulted him, a girl who constantly pushed him away? He could only be in it for the sex as well and if that was the case then he wouldn't be that distraught after her announcement anyway.

As the two teens ate their breakfast, time seemed to drag on for the redhead. With each passing second the young girl's heart seemed to beat ever faster. When the two eva pilots had finally finished eating their meals, it seemed as if Asuka's heart was going to burst out of her chest. Her hands were shaking and her legs twitching as she watched Shinji gather up their dishes and enter the kitchen to deposit them into the sink. The redhead breathed in deeply in an attempt to calm herself, though she couldn't understand what she was so nervous about. Asuka just wanted to get it off her chest or she would feel like this all day and so decided to tell Shinji as soon as he came back to the dining room.

It didn't take long for the boy to return from the kitchen and so Asuka stood up from the table ready to confront Shinji.

"You know Asuka I was thinking, because it's Saturday today we could go somewhere or do something-" he started.

"Shinji, we need to talk" Asuka said interrupting him.

The male eva pilot looked a little surprised at the sudden seriousness in the girl's tone. "What is it?" he asked a little worried.

The redhead took a deep breath before continuing. "I'll get straight to the point Shinji. This relationship we have, whatever you wanna call it, I want it to end" she said bluntly.

The young boy's face instantly fell upon hearing those words. "W-why?" was all he managed to reply with.

Asuka sighed as he asked the question she knew he would ask. "There was never anything between us, if I lead you to believe that we were going out or something it wasn't my intention. Furthermore, my sexual desires have been satisfied and I don't need you for sex anymore. It's no big deal, I'll let the fact you raped me slide and we can move on with our lives as if nothing happened" she explained.

Shinji was silent for a few moments as he digested the information. "Are you…are you saying that all that time you were just using me? You never felt anything else?" he asked, unable to believe that their relationship had meant so little to her.

"Well you put it so crudely but basically yeah. I told you beforehand I had no feelings for you whatsoever and was just with you for sex. Did you really think _I_ would want to be with _you_? But what does that matter anyway? You were doing the same thing anyway" she replied.

"Bullshit!" he shouted, insulted by her remark. "I never had the intention of using you. I didn't really understand at first but…I had grown to like you and just wanted you to be happy. I've always cared about you and wanted to make you feel good, I was not taking advantage of you!" he refuted.

"Don't lie Shinji! Stop spouting out bullshit just so you can get back into my pants! All boys are in a relationship just for the sex around this age. I didn't care though because I was doing the same thing" Asuka shouted back.

"IT WAS NEVER ABOUT THE SEX!" Shinji roared. "Asuka is it so hard to believe that I fell for you? I don't care about the sex, if we can stay together I don't care if we never have sex again!"

The redhead just stood still, stunned by the ferocity of his words.

"Why do you always have to be so difficult? It's not like you couldn't have felt anything. I saw you smile, you were happier. What about the sync test? Your sync ratio was much higher, was that all nothing?!" he continued.

"Don't be so conceited Ikari! It was all because of me and my skill, nothing else! I don't care what you think! The fact of the matter is that I feel NOTHING towards you. You're just a pathetic baka and I don't wanna be with you! Haven't you realised that by now?!" she shouted back at him.

"But…" Shinji started, unable to believe what she was saying.

"But what? Why would someone like me go out with someone like you? I wish none of this had ever happened!" she shouted furiously. Her words stung her mouth as she spoke and she felt a large pain in her chest; why was she getting so worked up?

This time he snapped. "Just what the fuck is wrong with you?! Everyone has their problems, but how can you be such a total bitch?! To think I thought you had a nice side to you! You're nothing but a damn slut!" Shinji replied infuriated.

Those words hit Asuka hard; his words rang so true it hurt so much. She never cared what others said about her, she would just ignore them or insult them; why did Shinji's words impact her so much? 'He can't be right, I don't feel anything for him, I don't care about him at all! Why does this have to be so difficult? Why can't I just shove him away? Why can't…anybody love me?' she thought dryly. Her throat felt sore, perhaps from all the shouting or maybe something else. The young girl just couldn't deal with it anymore; her mind was such a mess because of him, she needed him to go away.

"Just shut up! You said beforehand I was a bitch and it's true so get used to it! It certainly doesn't make us a perfect couple alright?! Just get the fuck away from me! Ich Liebe Dich!" Asuka yelled.

Shinji only had so much willpower and he couldn't handle it anymore; the strength behind her words was just too much for him. He should've known this would never last, he should've known she would never accept him. All his increased confidence and boosted self-esteem was all because of Asuka and she had just shoved it down his throat, only making him feel even more insecure about himself. Having been hurt so much, Shinji resorted to what he always did; he ran, ran out of the apartment.

It would seem Asuka too had only just been holding it together and now that the young boy was gone, her knees buckled and she collapsed to the floor. It didn't matter now though, he was gone. He wouldn't see how pathetic she was, how in the end the boy had managed to make it past her defenses.

"I knew he would run away, I was right. I'm always right" she said, her voice hoarse.

The redhead felt something trickle down her cheek and she wiped it off with her hand; it was a tear. She couldn't believe it, she was crying. Her eyes welled up and she began to sob, all her bottled up emotions finally bursting out.

'Be strong Asuka, be strong. This isn't like you at all!' she said to herself.

The young girl, wiped her face with her hand before standing up and going to the bathroom. After entering she went straight for the sink and washed her face clean, making sure no evidence of her momentary weakness remained.

"Shinji…why do you have to make me feel this way…?" she said out loud.

She didn't know whether what she did was wrong or right anymore, both of them had been hurt and she felt a little regret about the fight they had had. Asuka didn't want to think about it anymore, she didn't want to think at all. Since it was a Saturday she didn't have to go to school, so she decided it was best to just get to sleep and rest a little before dealing with this problem.

* * *

A young brown haired boy was running through the streets of Tokyo-3, he had no destination but he still ran desperately. The young teenager was crying, his tears falling to the ground as he ran. People turned their heads curiously at the sight of the crying boy, wondering what had him so upset. Shinji ignored their looks and just kept running. Even though he was almost out of breath, even though his legs were screaming in pain, he just couldn't stop.

'I should have known. I knew she couldn't really feel anything for me' he thought, 'she just used me and then threw me out when I was getting too annoying'

Eventually the male eva pilot got to the top of the hillside overlooking Tokyo-3 and, due to his fatigue, collapsed onto the ground breathing heavily. He felt so pathetic; she had no reason to like a person like him who ran away all the time, a coward. After recovering from his exertion, the young boy looked up and noticed the sun was still rising; it was still quite early in the morning. The immense city glimmered in the sunlight, making it look even more majestic. As he looked out into the sky, Shinji saw Asuka's face smiling and happy.

The young boy just sighed. 'It was my fault, all my fault. Now I've lost her' he thought. The quarrel had Shinji revert to his old self again, blaming himself for everything. 'Well at least I had her for a while, I guess it's better than nothing'

After a while the boy had calmed down and he sat there pondering over recent events, wondering what had sparked this morning's incident; just yesterday she had been so joyous and she didn't seem to mind their relationship. Maybe it had been going too well? Unable to come to a conclusion the boy just pushed it out of his mind, that girl was always an enigma.

'I guess there's nothing else I can do. I'll just go back and pretend none of this ever happened. At least things will go back to how they were, it wasn't so bad before'

Sighing in defeat, Shinji stood up and began his trip back to the apartment. It was a bit of a trek as he had run quite far. As he was physically and emotionally exhausted he didn't feel like running again and so walked the entire way back to his residence. There were more people up and about now, but this time they paid no attention to him, not that he minded. A part of him wondered what would have happened if he had stubbornly stayed at the apartment; would Asuka have killed him or would she have done something else. He regretted that he had run out on her, but then again he didn't have much of a choice.

Eventually the young boy had arrived at the apartment and he entered the building. Walking up the stairs, Shinji soon made it to his floor and then walked to his door. The male eva pilot found the door unlocked and opened it; Asuka obviously didn't lock the door after he had left. Entering inside he looked around but didn't see Asuka anywhere. As the front door had been unlocked, he was a little worried and so he went and checked her room. As he opened the door to her room, the young boy felt relieved as he saw her lying down in her bed.

'She must have still been tired' he thought.

"What are you doing here third child?" Asuka asked suddenly, making the boy jump a little; guess she wasn't asleep.

"I was um…just checking…" he said trailing off.

"And where the hell were you all this time?" she asked, sounding annoyed.

A little anger surged through the boy again; what the hell did she care? She had asked him to leave, and quite rudely at that.

"I went to that slut Rei's apartment and fucked her," he said sarcastically.

"I shoulda known, you're just a damn womaniser" she replied, turning her head away in disgust.

"You are just unbelievable Asuka. After all that crap you told me about using me, you call _me_ a womaniser? Did you seriously think that I did that?"

"It wouldn't be a surprise" she answered.

It took all of Shinji's will to just let it go. He had told himself he would try to go back to how they were and he had had enough of arguing with her for today. The young boy could see talking to her now would achieve nothing and so turned around and slammed the door shut. Wanting to put his mind at ease, Shinji decided to occupy himself with cooking. Although he had eaten breakfast already, it had already been a while and so he decided to make a snack.

The male eva pilot entered the kitchen and began his work, quickly losing himself in the task. Cooking seemed to be the only thing he was good at; he seemed to screw up everything else. It was the only time he didn't feel like such a failure. In the end he was too good at cooking and he didn't have to think much, as such his thoughts soon returned to Asuka. The one thing that he couldn't really grasp was just how angry the redhead had been, it was like there was something much bigger bothering her. Alas, it's not like Asuka was one to share her problems with anyone, let alone him.

After Shinji had finished making his snack, he returned to the dining room ready to sit down and eat only to find the young girl he had just been thinking about sitting there already; it seemed someone else was also hungry. The redhead looked up at the boy and gave him a menacing look, warning him not to say anything that would piss her off. Shinji noticed that her eyes looked red like she had been crying, but he doubted it.

"So what brings you here?" he asked, not entirely sure what she wanted.

"You made me something right?" was her reply.

Shinji just rolled his eyes; she was just as selfish as ever. "Well I actually made it for myself, a certain someone didn't ask me to make anything for them" he said spitefully.

"You never think about others do you?" she remarked.

The male eva pilot was sure Asuka was intentionally trying to piss him off, but he was not going to get into a fight again, he didn't want to deal with it. "You know what, who cares? You can have my meal, you seem to take everything from me anyway. My dignity, my pride, my sanity, just take that as well what do I care?" he replied, slamming the food down on the table in front of her.

The redhead made no response and instead began to eat the meal in front of her. Shinji just gave up, she just couldn't be human. Resigning, he sat down at the table having nothing better to do. The young girl ate in silence and Shinji found himself looking over at her. Watching her, he noticed she was avoiding his gaze. Even after all the suffering she had put him through, he still thought she looked beautiful, still thought she must have some kindness in her. He really wanted nothing more than to just go over to her and kiss her and touch her and get lost in the mindless passion they had shared; it seemed he just couldn't let her go.

'Just get over it already Shinji' he thought to himself.

The redhead stood up, interrupting Shinji's contemplation. As the girl had finished her meal, she moved over to the kitchen and put her plate into the sink before walking over to her room and closing the door. The young boy sighed and decided he needed something else to help him forget about today. Remembering what he used to do when he felt down, Shinji retired to his room and took out his SDAT player. Lying down on his bed, he pressed the play button and music filled his ears. One thought passed through his mind before he became lost in the melody, 'What did Asuka scream in German? Ihu libe dihu or something, I wonder what that meant'

* * *

A weary purple haired woman trudged her way back into her apartment. The work she had done all night through to the morning had been quite demanding and she had been deprived of sleep. The Major wanted nothing more than to get to her room and fall asleep on the bed. As Misato finally opened her door, she entered her residence and shut the door behind her. Upon entering she soon discovered it was completely silent; both Shinji and Asuka weren't up and about. Usually the two roommates would be fighting, watching T.V or eating together, but she could not see them anywhere.

"I'm home" she called out. Silence answered her. "That's weird" she said to herself.

Thinking they might be in their rooms, the Major went over to Asuka's room first. Opening Asuka's door, Misato's eyes fell upon the young girl sleeping on her bed. The Major quickly looked at her watch to make sure she wasn't going crazy.

"Still sleeping at this time? What the hell?" she asked herself quietly.

Not wanting to disturb the redhead, Misato closed the door quietly before moving over to Shinji's room. Opening Shinji's door slowly, Misato peeked into his room and found Shinji with his eyes closed and listening to his SDAT player. After seeing him, she then closed his door without a sound so he wouldn't notice.

'That's strange' she thought to herself. The past few days Shinji had stopped listening to his SDAT player, but today he had started again. The Major just sighed. 'It was probably Asuka waking up with Shinji on the couch. Unfortunately there was nothing I could have done about it'

Being tired, Misato couldn't be bothered to help the two make up; she doubted they wanted to be disturbed at the moment anyway. Wanting her mind to rest a little, the Major went to the fridge, took out a beer and gulped it down. It was getting difficult between the two eva pilots and the long hours she had to spend at Nerv were only making it worse; she couldn't keep an eye on them. She had tried many times to help their relationship, but it never seemed to work, she always seemed to make things worse. Instead, she drank away those painful thoughts with the beer in her hand.

'If only Kaji was here' she thought, 'he would know what to do'

But the man was dead; she had shot him, because she was ordered to. Kaji, her only love, had been too careless, snooping around at Nerv, discovering things he shouldn't have.

'Damn it Kaji! Why did you have to leave me? I need you'

However Misato only drank more beer to drown out these thoughts and soon she fell asleep on the table, exhausted from the whole night's work.

* * *

End notes: Well there you go. Next chapter will be a turning point for sure. As always, review please.


	5. Starting Over

Author's Notes: Okay this is the chapter you've all been waiting for! A bit of WAFF, hope you like this chapter. I'm sure all the WAFF addicts will.

A note to say this is the rewritten chapter 5.

* * *

Chapter 5: Starting Over

It was exceptionally quiet in the Katsuragi apartment as all roommates were off in another world. All were unmoving in their positions as they remained in their fantasia. The home also seemed miserable with each occupant feeling downcast; the day's events were weighing down on the two eva pilots especially.

The older woman was the first to wake up, opening her eyes and looking around groggily. It didn't take long to see that it was already dark outside and raining heavily. The Major groaned before she finally noticed what had awakened her; it was her cell phone ringing. Disbelief crossed Misato's face as she looked at her mobile, hoping against hope that it was not what she thought it was. Unfortunately her speculations were right as no sooner had the alarm klaxons come on all over the city.

"You're fucking kidding me, an angel now?!" Misato swore. The purple haired woman quickly looked at her watch and cursed; it was already past seven in the afternoon. "Not good, not good" she said aloud, standing up.

Misato quickly went to the pilot's rooms and opened Asuka's door first. The Major wasted no time in waking the redhead.

"Get up Asuka! It's an angel attack!" the older woman said loudly.

The young girl sat up tiredly. "Huh?" she said sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"It's an angel attack, get ready!" Misato announced.

Asuka leaped right out of her bed at the mention of the word 'angel' and began getting ready. Having the female pilot done, the Major then hurried to Shinji's room and opened his door.

"Shinji, it's an angel attack!" she shouted at him.

Startled, the young boy jumped a bit before taking off his earpieces. "What did you say?" he asked her.

"It's an angel attack" she repeated.

The young boy's spirit dropped even lower upon hearing this revelation. Shinji did not want to do anything but wallow in self pity, but he knew this was not the time to act depressed and reluctantly got off his bed; at least this would force his mind to concentrate on something else anyway. Hastily putting on his shoes, he then followed Misato out of his room. Shinji and Misato were soon met by Asuka coming out of her room, looking a little weary. The Major was as reluctant to put these kids into battle today as they were to fight, but she didn't have a choice.

"Alright we gotta hurry guys, let's go" Misato commanded.

The trio rushed out the front door, ran down the stairs and entered Misato's car; the two eva pilots had both sat in the back on opposite sides. Turning the ignition, the Major changed gear and pushed down on the accelerator, shooting out into the road and driving off towards Nerv. Even though they had been in the rain for only a few seconds, the two teens were soaking wet and cold, causing them to shiver inside the car. As the Major had turned on the heater, it was the first time that the two eva pilots preferred to be inside Misato's car rather than outside. Zooming down the road, they almost crashed a few times due to the wet road but reached Nerv quickly and in one piece.

"I've got the kids so open the gate already!" Misato shouted into the intercom.

Instantly the gate opened and she drove in. Misato then turned around to address the kids.

"You guys go straight to the eva cages while I park this car and then come to command for battle strategics" the older woman ordered.

"Hai" they both replied, unbuckling their seatbelts.

The two adolescents got out of the car, closed their doors and then ran to the elevator, after which Misato drove off further. Shinji then pressed the elevator button and the doors opened. Entering the elevator, Shinji and Asuka pressed the eva cage's floor number and the close-door button respectively. As the doors closed and the elevator began its descent, neither of the occupants said a word to each other; they just leaned against the wall, avoiding each other's gaze. Arriving at their level, the two teens then exited the elevator and headed straight to the changing rooms. Not having much time, the two eva pilots just began changing in front of each other as soon as they arrived, not particularly caring.

Just as the two pressed the buttons on their wrists, the other eva pilot came in; she had been sent to check on their progress. The blue haired girl concluded that they were already fully changed into their plugsuits.

"You must report to the eva cages immediately," Rei announced before departing.

Shinji looked over at the redhead for a moment and was surprised to have their eyes meet. The two looked at each other for what seemed like ages, but in fact was just a couple of seconds, before Asuka turned away and left the changing rooms. The image of her face had had him transfixed; she had looked almost confused. Shaking it off, the boy swiftly followed after the girl and they rushed to the eva cages. All eva pilots climbed up into their entry plugs with the young boy pausing just before he got in to look at Asuka. He only caught a flash of her red hair before it disappeared and he turned his face away; it was exactly how his relationship had turned out. Despite everything, Shinji could not stop longing for the girl and he couldn't understand why; why had he been so serious about her?

Entering his entry plug, the young boy closed the hatch and the capsule inserted itself into his evangelion before filling up with LCL. All three pilots breathed in the liquid before Misato came up on their view screen.

"Mission briefing is as follows" Misato started. "The target is orbiting Earth and is way out of range of any conventional weapons. It has not moved or taken any action so we do not know how it will attack, everyone be careful" she explained.

The Major paused to look at each pilot's sync ratio and furrowed her brow, trying to make a decision; both Shinji's and Asuka's sync ratios were much lower than they had been yesterday. Although the Commander had ordered a system freeze on Unit 01, so she didn't really have much of a choice anyway.

"Asuka you have the highest sync ratio so you take point with the new Positron Rifle Mark II. Shinji, the commander has ordered a system freeze on your eva, you'll be doing nothing this mission unless everything fails. As for you Rei, you'll act as backup for Asuka with the old Positron Rifle Mark I" Misato finished.

"Affirmative" Rei replied.

Asuka and Shinji said nothing, but it seemed they understood the orders they were given.

"Alright get ready for launch!" Misato announced, not seeing a reason to delay.

Both Unit 02 and Unit 00 shot up their catapults to the surface; the immense lurching sensation felt by both girls. Reaching the surface in several seconds, the two evangelions then exited their ramps, immediately seeing the angel up in the sky; it looked like a glowing star. Both eva pilots halted as they looked up at the majestic spectacle.

"Get into position" Misato said over the com link at their hesitance.

Asuka willed her eva over to a nearby weapons armament building and took out the rifle. While Asuka had received her weapon, Rei had also moved to another building and took out the older rifle. The blue haired girl moved further back and assembled her weapon before setting up position. The redhead moved into position before aiming her rifle up into the sky at the angel, waiting for the crosshairs to link up. The computer had to calculate distance, temperature, gravity and all other factors affecting the trajectory making it take a long time. The outside rain pouring onto the evangelions didn't help. Even though it didn't hurt, she could feel the impact of every raindrop as they landed onto the eva causing great irritation.

"Come on, come on!" Asuka said out of frustration.

Though the young girl usually enjoyed piloting her Unit 02, today her evangelion felt alien. Added to her discomfort was the situation between her and Shinji, which just wouldn't leave her mind; why she found it so difficult to push it from her mind was a mystery to her. The young boy had been silent to her ever since she woke up, but she had caught him stealing glances at her and she was at a loss on how to deal with him; something still stirred in her heart when he looked at her, before she had thought it was just sexual excitement but now she didn't have a clue. Focusing back on the task at hand, the girl gripped her controls a little tighter.

Unfortunately for Asuka, the battle would not go as she had expected and just as her crosshairs were about to link up with the angel a strange light assaulted her.

"What the…?" the redhead let out in confusion.

A moment later, the young girl felt tremendous pain as it felt like the angel was trying to force its way into her mind. The mind was something no one could or should ever touch and yet she could feel an alien presence shoving itself around in her head, looking through her thoughts and memories, violating her mind. The redhead screamed in anguish as she felt the angel probing her mind; she had to get rid of it. In retaliation, Asuka fired her rifle up at the sky, desperately trying to hit the angel. All her shots missed the angel by mere centimetres and her rifle was soon depleted of ammo.

"Get out of my head, get out!" she screamed. The young girl clutched her head in agony and struggled against the assault, causing Unit 02 to do the same.

Everyone's eyes widened in horror as they heard the girl's screams. The entire bridge crew was in stunned silence, unable to believe what they were seeing and hearing. Shinji was absolutely shocked to hear real cries of pain coming from the redhead and he felt an enormous pit in his stomach. Asuka had already suffered enough from him, she didn't deserve this at all. Despair threatened to overcome him as he realised he was unable to do anything to save her due to his Unit 01 being in system freeze.

"Ritsuko?!" Misato shouted, needing a quick assessment of the situation.

"It seems the angel is attacking Asuka with some sort of particle wave, it's assaulting the pilot's mind directly!" the doctor said frantically.

"Any suggestions? Anything that can stop this attack?!" Misato shouted urgently.

"I don't know Misato. It would take too long to analyse and I just don't know where to start and-" Ritsuko started.

"Rei fire!" Misato ordered, seeing that the doctor did not have any solution.

Rei had her rifle aimed at the angel and had been waiting for the order to fire. Upon receiving Misato's command, the blue haired girl fired at once, the long energy beam shooting off into the sky. However, the distance was too far and by the time the beam reached the angel it had lost too much energy and the beam was reflected as it hit a series of octagons.

"The AT-Field is too strong!" Ritsuko called out.

"Damn it" the Major cursed at the failure.

"Ah God, I don't want to remember this! Make it stop, make it stop!" Asuka cried out, still under attack.

The young boy could no longer sit there doing nothing anymore. "Father!" Shinji cried out. "Father please let me help her!" he pleaded, tears threatening to fall.

"Permission denied" the Commander replied coldly. "Unit 01 is too valuable, I cannot take the risk"

Asuka continued to scream in pain, desperately fighting against her foe.

"At this rate the pilot could receive irreversible mental damage, we need to do something" Ritsuko announced.

"If not send out Unit 01, what do you suggest commander?!" Misato shouted furiously.

"Father please, I have to go help her. Let me go, I can do this!" Shinji pleaded again.

"Permission denied" the Commander replied again. "Rei retrieve the lance" he ordered.

"Hai" was Rei's response before she stood up and went over to the elevator so she could be brought back down to retrieve the lance.

"The Lance?! You can't be serious Commander?!" Misato shouted in disbelief.

"Follow your orders" was all the Commander said in response.

Shinji was enraged at his father, how long would it take for Rei to retrieve the lance and would it even work? All that time Asuka would be suffering under the angel's assault and he would sit there doing nothing; there was no way he was going to allow that. Deciding on a different approach, the young boy opened a com link to Asuka's evangelion.

"Asuka can you hear me?" Shinji asked.

The young girl shifted as she heard his voice; fortunately she was still able to differentiate between her mind and reality. "Yes" she replied in pain.

Shinji sighed in relief; he was at least able to talk to her. Taking a deep breath before he spoke, Shinji made sure to be ready to speak with conviction and without stammering; any weakness in his voice would surely cause the redhead to give up.

"Listen to me Asuka, you have to fight it!" he urged.

"I can't! It hurts so much!" the girl replied.

"Be strong Asuka, you always were" Shinji responded, fighting desperately against his tears.

The male eva pilot hadn't noticed, but the entire bridge crew was listening to their conversation, hoping he could help the young girl.

"I don't wanna be strong anymore!" she shouted. "I've acted strong all my life, I'm sick of it! In the end I still have to suffer this, I just can't take the pain anymore" she refuted.

"In all my life I have never met a girl with a stronger will, with more determination, with more stubbornness. No matter what, you always stood by your pride even if it hurt you and I've experienced it from you personally. Surely this angel is nothing then right? You can do it Asuka, I believe you can" Shinji replied, surprising even himself.

The redhead felt something stir inside her as she heard those words, but she was still battling desperately against the angel. She just couldn't see how she could get out of this one, how could his words alone help her? "So what Shinji? You're just a pathetic wimpy little boy. So what if you believe in me? So what if you give a damn? It doesn't change anything…" she retorted.

Many emotions swirled around inside the boy as he heard her reply. How could she give up? What could he do? Was there something more he could say? Was it going to end like this?

"You're wrong Asuka. You're wrong because…" he said trailing off, not knowing what his heart was trying to make him say.

"Because what?" she asked.

'Because what?' It was a good question. What did it mean to her if he believed in her? What was he trying to achieve? What was he getting so worked up about? Why did he feel such a strong need to protect her? Why did he want her to stop suffering? What was this feeling that threatened to overwhelm him? Why did he damn care so much about a stupid girl who just insulted him all the time? What did he want?

Realisation struck Shinji as he finally understood something he had been refusing to admit all this time. And so he answered the redhead with the words he knew were true, words that had been true for a long time.

"Because I…love you Asuka" he said without a hint of deceit.

A few sharp intakes of breath could be heard at the confession, one of the most shocked people was Misato; she just couldn't comprehend that Shinji had real feelings towards Asuka.

The redhead too could not believe what Shinji had just admitted, the words just kept repeating in her head. How could it be true? Even after everything she put him through, how could he feel that way about her? Why did she even care if he felt that way about her?

The angel now seemed to try to press into her consciousness with even greater persistence than before. The young girl cried out in pain, ashamed at the memories she was being shown. "Baka Shinji, why did you fall for someone as horrible as me?" she managed to respond with.

"You're not a horrible person, you're a special person Asuka, especially to me. How many things have you taught me? How many great things have you accomplished?" Shinji encouraged.

"I've always been beaten by you. Your sync ratio, your number of angel kills. It doesn't matter what you say, I'm going to lose to this angel…" Asuka replied, growing weary.

"Don't do this Asuka! You were always stronger than me! I've only been in more angel battles, so that doesn't count. Also you have a higher sync ratio than me right now and in the end that doesn't define you anyway! Please Asuka! Show this angel that you never back down!" he urged. "Curse at it like you did to me. What was it again? Ihu libe dihu?"

Asuka's heart thumped upon hearing those words. Instantly the memory of their fight came flashing back to her and she realised she truly had spoken those words to the boy. The redhead then did something completely unexpected for everyone; she starting laughing. Though it was barely audible it was definitely a laugh.

"Oh you really are a baka Shinji. That wasn't a curse, it means 'I love you' in German" Asuka replied, finding a strange amusement in the fact that Shinji thought she had cursed him.

Shinji was frozen still; she had said _that_ to him? How he had been a fool, all her behaviour made total sense right now. How could he have not understood? It seemed so obvious now. He knew Asuka would never admit anything like that; he should have just stayed with her. Running off only made it seem like he was running away from her; he should've seen past her instinctive anger, he knew she was like that. The young boy sighed knowing he could not change the past, but knew there was still a chance now.

"Fuck it all Asuka, just forget everything that happened. You're the one I want, now and forever, and no one else. I promise we can start over after this" he urged.

For some reason Asuka felt she could trust the young boy's words, the strength behind his voice showed he wasn't just talking. Her resolve grew and a newfound strength flowed through her body; she wanted to fight back, she wanted to have a chance at happiness. The young girl didn't know exactly what to do, but she knew nothing would happen if she gave up now.

"You mother fucking angel, you're gonna die!" she shouted out in retaliation.

The redhead's face darkened with anger as she mustered all her will to erect her AT-Field, which successfully blocked the wave. The young girl, having finally been relieved of the alien presence in her mind, became slightly more relaxed, no longer clutching her head in pain; she could now control Unit 02 without hindrance. The angel up in space was astonished the eva pilot could manage it and so increased the power of its attack. Asuka thought over the situation quickly, deciding how she could possibly fight the angel up in space.

"I'm so glad you're okay Asuka!" Shinji cried out happily, noticing the redhead was back in control.

"It won't last forever Shinji, I need some way to attack the angel" Asuka replied.

"I think I have a way" Ritsuko suddenly announced.

"I'm up for any suggestion" Asuka said, encouraging the doctor to go on.

"Currently your AT-Field is blocking the wave, however if you invert your AT-Field you could redirect and focus the particle wave. If concentrated enough, the particle wave could turn into a high energy gamma beam and slice right through the angel's AT-Field" Ritsuko explained.

"Understood" Asuka said in response.

The young girl proceeded to invert her AT-Field and began redirecting the angel's weapon right back at it. Sweat began pouring down the redhead's forehead as she concentrated on focusing the particle wave. Pressing her AT-Field together she focused the particle wave into a tiny concentrated beam and swung it in an upward arc, causing the beam to cut straight through the angel's AT-Field and the angel itself. Up in space the angel exploded, causing a spectacular sight to be seen from the ground as the explosion could be seen in the sky.

"Thank you Shinji" Asuka managed to say before collapsing from exhaustion; the red evangelion slumped as the young girl went unconscious.

There were a few moments of silence before cheering erupted throughout Nerv; the angel had been defeated.

"Rei don't bother with the lance," the Commander ordered, sounding a little annoyed.

"Hai" Rei responded.

Wanting to meet with Asuka as soon as possible, Shinji was ready to get out of Unit 01 and make it to the hospital but soon found that his eva was able to move again; perhaps because there was no angel, the system had come back online. With his movement restored, Shinji walked his evangelion over to the catapult and requested a launch. Before any permission was given, Ritsuko activated the launch and Unit 01 was fired up to the surface. After his short ride, Shinji exited his ramp and moved over to the motionless evangelion. The young boy saw Asuka's entry plug ejecting automatically out of the armour and the LCL being expelled from the capsule. Grabbing the entry plug, he quickly set it down on the ground before exiting his eva and running over to it.

Shinji grabbed the handles on the hatch and instantly flinched as it was extremely hot. Nonetheless, the young boy grabbed them again and turned the handles to open her hatch, burning his hands once again. Upon opening the hatch, he quickly looked inside wanting to make sure Asuka was fine. After seeing the redhead's prone form, he lifted her up and carried her out of the capsule. Checking her over, Shinji decided that the young girl seemed okay; she was breathing, her heart was beating and she made a few small noises as he handled her. Moments later, the rescue team arrived and he placed Asuka onto a stretcher they brought out. Getting into the van with her, Shinji watched over the redhead as they were transported to the Nerv hospital.

The medical team conversed with each other over the status of the female eva pilot and gave instructions to each other for when they arrived but Shinji couldn't hear what they were saying. The young boy had his sole concentration on the young girl in front of him; he had admitted his feelings for her and she had returned them, he just couldn't believe it. Shinji hoped Asuka hadn't been injured in any way and just prayed she went unconscious due to exhaustion. The journey to the Nerv hospital had been a short and bumpy ride and soon the doors of the van opened up and they wheeled the young girl out of the vehicle and into the hospital.

Shinji followed the medical team as they pushed his roommate through the halls of the hospital to an already prepared room. After arriving to her designated room, they pushed the stretcher inside the room and asked the boy to stay outside. Grudgingly, Shinji accepted their request and sat down on a nearby bench as a few doctors entered her room and closed the door behind them. It didn't take long, however, for the doctors to check and treat the redhead and only after a few minutes they exited the room and told the boy he could see her. The doctors told him she was perfectly fine; she hadn't been injured in any way, she was just sleeping. Leaving the young boy alone, the doctors went off down the hallway to other patients that needed attending.

Shinji swiftly entered the room and soon saw the young girl had been laid onto a soft white bed. The redhead was sleeping soundly, no ill expression on her face, just peacefulness. The young boy grabbed a chair, moved over to her side and decided to watch over her until she woke up. His silent supervision was soon interrupted as a very emotional purple haired woman burst into the hospital room. The crying Major ran over to Shinji and hugged him tightly, grateful nothing dreadful had befallen the pilots. The young boy appreciated the comfort and returned the embrace to Misato, calming her down.

Finally the Tactical Operations Director pulled away from Shinji and wiped her face. "How is Asuka? Is she alright?" Misato asked concerned.

"The doctors said she should pull through just fine" Shinji answered.

"That's great news" she said relieved. However, the Major's expression was soon replaced with a smirk as she looked at the boy. "However there's something else I want to ask you, you see I was quite surprised when I overheard your conversation with Asuka. What was all that stuff you confessed to her about lover boy?" she asked cheekily.

Shinji blushed in response to her question. "I think it's best we wait for Asuka to wake up before we discuss it" he replied.

"Alright then Shinji" Misato agreed. "You should go change though, you've been in that plugsuit for a while and no doubt the LCL has dried by now. Don't worry about Asuka I'll watch over her while you're gone" Misato encouraged.

"Ok then. Thanks Misato" Shinji said warmly before exiting the hospital room.

The young boy moved down the corridor and realised he didn't have a change of clothes to dress into. Shinji decided he might as well go back to the Nerv changing rooms to change back into his school uniform and get cleaned of LCL. Thus the male eva pilot walked over to the front counter to request transport back to Nerv headquarters. After showing his Nerv ID with his pilot status, the vehicle was immediately prepared and Shinji was directed to the car park where he would be picked up.

As the young boy left the hospital building, he immediately spotted a standard issue Nerv car almost next to the exit of the car park with its engine rumbling; obviously this was his intended transport. Shinji quickly went over to the car and opened the back door before entering the car and sitting down. As the driver noticed the boy enter the back, he then sped off towards Nerv Headquarters. The driver didn't open conversation with the young boy, he just looked straight ahead and did his job. Shinji didn't mind, talking with Nerv employees was always awkward.

After they arrived, Shinji exited the car and told the driver to wait here so that he could transport him back to the hospital. The driver nodded in response and turned his engine off while the male eva pilot moved off towards the elevator. The young boy entered the elevator and pressed the floor number for the changing rooms and then leaned against the wall as the doors closed and the elevator began its descent. It didn't take too long to arrive at his level and Shinji exited the elevator heading towards the changing rooms.

When the male eva pilot arrived at the changing rooms, he quickly stripped off his plugsuit and stepped into the shower to wash himself clean. He found the solitary time quite relaxing as the water poured down all over his body. It was a moment where he didn't have to worry or feel anxious as everything was finally looking up. Soon Shinji turned off the water and dried himself off before changing into his clothes. Just as he was exiting the changing rooms to go back to the hospital, Rei confronted him. The young boy looked curiously at the blue haired girl.

"Ah hello Rei, did you need something?" he asked her.

"Ikari I would like to ask you a question. There was something you discussed with Pilot Sohryu that I found incomprehensible" Rei explained.

"What's that?" he replied.

"What is 'love'?" she asked.

Shinji found her question quite a surprise and just looked at the girl quizzically, trying to think of an answer. "Love is when you really care about someone. Love is when you are happy because the person you love is happy or they are safe. Love is when you wish to be with the person you love forever. This feeling is like that between a mother and her child or a husband and his wife" Shinji answered.

"I do not understand" Rei said confused, "I have observed your and Sohryu's behaviour towards each other and it does not fit your definition" Rei explained.

Shinji couldn't help chuckling; even Rei noticed the abnormality of a relationship between him and Asuka. "Well between me and Asuka it's a lot more complicated" he remarked.

"Ikari…" she started, hesitating about something.

"Yes?" he encouraged.

"If your definition is correct, then that means I love you too" Rei finished.

The young boy just looked at her utterly shocked.

Noticing the boy's confusion, Rei spoke up again. "I feel at ease when you are safe. I do not wish harm to come upon you. I do not wish to be together but I am happy you are still alive. I do not really understand this feeling but your definition closely matches it" she clarified.

Shinji was truly taken aback by the young girl's confession. The conversations between him and her were always quite short and never had they discussed something as deep. The young boy wondered what had caused the blue haired girl to open up to him more; perhaps it was just curiosity.

"Thank you for your attention Ikari" Rei said at the boy's silence.

"No problem at all Rei. And just call me Shinji, that's what people who love each other do" Shinji replied.

"Very well Ika- Shinji" Rei acknowledged. "I must take my leave" she announced bowing, before walking off down the corridor.

As the young girl walked off, Shinji noticed Rei had also changed out of her plugsuit. The young boy decided he might as well bring Asuka a change of clothes; after all she would probably be able to leave the hospital soon as she didn't seem to have any injuries. Reentering the changing rooms, Shinji went and grabbed the pile of clothes that Asuka had left behind when she changed into her plugsuit just before the angel battle.

With Asuka's clothes in hand, the male eva pilot made his way back to the elevator and back up to the surface. The male eva pilot found the car exactly where he had left it and so entered the back again and told the driver to drive back to the hospital. As soon as they arrived, Shinji exited the car and rushed off back into the hospital to Asuka's room, wanting to see if she was up already. Stopping at her door, he opened it to see Misato still looking over the redhead.

"She awake yet?" he asked, standing in the doorway.

Misato turned to face him. "No, not yet" she replied.

"Alright" Shinji replied back, entering the room and closing the door behind him.

The young boy walked over to a nearby table and placed Asuka's clothes on it before taking a chair and sitting down near Asuka's bed. Shinji then took the redhead's hand and held it as he watched over her, hoping she would wake up soon.

Misato looked over at the boy, surprised by his actions. 'This will take some getting used to' she thought.

* * *

Alone in a room, a boy with glasses was in front of a computer. A flurry of key presses could be heard as the teenage boy typed furiously on a keyboard, trying to get some information. The day's events had left him curious as to what had happened at Nerv; he didn't get a chance to see the angel and he also wanted to see if there was anything he could find out about the pilots. Adrenalin pumped through the bespectacled boy's veins as he knew making any mistakes could be disastrous. After retrieving the information he wanted, he quickly removed all traces of himself before severing the connection.

* * *

Only a few hours had passed when Asuka stirred and slowly began to sit up. The movement Shinji felt caused him to look up at the young girl; her hand had gripped his tightly before letting go.

"Asuka?" Shinji said, wondering if she was still asleep as her eyes were closed. Misato also looked up at the girl when she heard Shinji say her name.

The redhead herself gradually opened her eyes and looked around tiredly. "Hmmm where am I?" she asked puzzled.

Shinji could not hide his excitement as he quickly jumped onto her bed. "Asuka!" Shinji cried out before kissing her hard on the lips.

The young boy wrapped his arms around her tightly, happy that everything was alright. Asuka was shocked at first, being kissed as soon as she woke up left her confused, but she soon realised what was happening and kissed Shinji back eagerly. Comforting her lover, the redhead moved her hand up and down his back soothingly. Eventually they parted and Shinji began stroking her hair.

"Thank God you're ok" Shinji exclaimed happily.

"What'd you expect from the Great Sohryu Asuka Langley?" she said boastfully.

The young boy chuckled and grinned at her. "That's right. How could I forget?" he replied hugging her.

The Major, however, just stood there with her mouth open; the exchange she had just witnessed was one of the largest surprises she had ever had. She knew they had confessed love but it was just a few hours ago, she didn't expect them to go straight for kissing. Not only that, they had done it so casually and with skill; it looked as if they had been kissing each other for a while now. Adding this to their strange behaviour over the past few days and some of the things said during their conversation, Misato decided she needed some questions answered.

"Alright, what is going on here?" the older woman asked seriously.

"Misato?!" Asuka said jumping; she hadn't realised Misato was in the room. "Er…I was um" she stumbled, unable to think of an excuse.

"We have a lot to explain" Shinji interrupted. The young girl just looked at Shinji with a strange look. Noticing her gaze, the young boy turned to face the redhead. "Asuka, you do realise everyone was listening in on our conversation during the angel battle" he stated.

Understanding crossed her face instantly and she blushed. "Oh" was her only response.

Noticing their reluctance to give any details, the Major spoke up first. "Seeing as you guys don't want to say anything, I'll just ask the questions. First off, what the hell was with that kiss?" Misato asked. "You only _just_ confessed yet you jumped into smooching without hesitation, I was fully expecting to see Asuka yell at you. Plus no one can kiss that well the first time"

"This isn't our first time," Shinji replied.

"Oh? So how many times _have_ you kissed?" the Major inquired.

"Like a dozen times" he answered.

"What?" Misato said, shocked at his response.

"Look Misato" Asuka started, wanting to get this out of the way as soon as possible. "A few days ago, well Shinji and I…well we um…we had sex" she finished, blushing slightly.

"WHAT?!" Misato repeated louder.

"Calm down Misato" Shinji said quickly.

"It's alright, I'm not getting pregnant and it's all fine. Anyway the reason we've kissed so many times is because ever since our first time we've been screwing each other" Asuka said bluntly.

Shinji blushed at the redhead's comment. 'She always did get straight to the point' he thought.

"So you two, out of all people, have been having sex right under my nose?" Misato asked.

"Pretty much" Asuka replied.

"But how does that make sense…? I suppose it explains your behaviour over the past few days quite a bit, but I cannot fathom you two becoming a couple at all. There definitely must be more to it than that, especially considering you Asuka" Misato said baffled.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Asuka asked angrily.

"You yourself cannot deny how difficult of a person you can be Asuka" Misato retorted.

At this the redhead stayed silent.

"There were times when you were really angry at Shinji. At the sync test, in the conversation you had with Shinji, it sounded as if he had done something to you. Just previously in the angel battle Shinji mentioned starting over. I really have put up with you keeping secrets from me long enough, what could possibly be worse than telling me you had sex?" Misato said, growing increasingly more annoyed.

"Misato, Asuka just had a serious angel battle, she still needs some rest" Shinji said with finality.

The Major sighed in defeat. "No you're right, I'm sorry Asuka. It's just the stress of everything that's happened lately has been really hard on me. I suppose that's all I need to know at the moment anyway, we can discuss the details later" Misato said resignedly.

At this, both eva pilots sighed in relief.

"So Shinji, is she a screamer?" Misato asked jokingly.

"Misato!" they both shouted.

"Relax, I was kidding. It's just good to see you both happy for once" the older woman said smiling. "Although I am curious about one thing, I asked Ritsuko to do a test on both of you and I know for sure Ritsuko would have discovered if you had lost your virginity Asuka, yet she never said anything" Misato remarked.

"Mhm, Ritsuko did find out, but I said I'd tell her who my partner was if she didn't report it to anyone. Ritsuko decided it was better than going through all the trouble of finding out who my partner was so she agreed to my deal" Asuka explained.

"So she knew? Damn you Ritsuko. I was really worried about you guys" Misato replied.

"Don't blame it on her Misato, I made her promise" Asuka reassured.

"Well I suppose it would be embarrassing for me to find out, I mean it's still just sinking in now. God damn this is just weird" Misato said perplexed.

"You're telling me," Asuka said teasingly.

"Shut up Asuka" Shinji said annoyed.

The redhead just laughed in response. The young boy could not help smiling as he saw Asuka's joyful expression. Just previously she had been battling for her sanity and it was such a refreshing feeling to see her in such a cheerful mood. Suddenly all the suffering he had been put through seemed liked nothing now that he had Asuka.

Grinning mischievously, Shinji tackled the redhead on the bed and pinned her arms down. The male eva pilot wasted no time as he began kissing her everywhere; on her lips, her neck and her hair. The young girl moaned in pleasure as the boy continued his actions.

"Shinji not now! Misato's watching!" Asuka exclaimed, struggling underneath the boy.

"I don't mind" Misato said cheekily.

"How many times have I heard you say that Asuka? You even said that at school, yet in the end you always gave in" Shinji said amused.

"You made out in school?" Misato asked a little shocked.

"Much more than that too" Shinji answered laughing.

"Shut _up_ Shinji!" Asuka shouted, giving him a menacing glare.

Letting go of Asuka's arms, the young boy just continued kissing her lovingly. Shinji then slipped his tongue into her mouth and they began their tongue duel. Misato just watched absolutely astonished at how they could kiss so aptly. The redhead won their duel this time and increased her attack, pressing forward her advantage. After a while, the two eva pilots parted slowly and Asuka lied back down on her bed.

"Ok enough of that already, I want to get some rest" Asuka said yawning.

"Don't you always want more? Since when does Asuka need rest?" Shinji asked teasingly.

"Just piss off asshole, I need sleep" Asuka rebuked, pulling her covers around her tightly.

The Major, who had watched the entire exchange, couldn't stop herself from laughing; this relationship was just comical.

"Can I at least sleep with you Asuka?" Shinji asked a little more pleadingly. Asuka just raised her eyebrows at him. "I'll be alone at home and-" he continued.

"Alright fine" Asuka said interrupting him.

The redhead lifted up the covers of the bed and let Shinji slip inside next to her. The young boy then wrapped his arms around Asuka, embracing her warmly.

"I'm quite sure you two don't want me joining you two so I'm going to go back to my apartment to sleep. That means I'll be leaving you two alone, I hope I can trust you two to behave" Misato announced warningly.

"Don't worry Misato, I'll keep Shinji in line" Asuka replied smirking.

The Major gave the two a quick look before moving over to the door. "Alright then, I guess that's goodnight. Goodbye you two and no funny business, I mean it" Misato commanded, before opening the door and closing it behind her.

* * *

The purple haired woman leaned against the door and smiled; maybe she wasn't such a dreadful guardian after all. The joy she felt knowing those two children were finally on good terms with each other was indescribable. Caring for her wards was part of her job, but as she got to know the two she had come to love them as her children. Misato knew that those two children definitely deserved happiness and was happy that had finally gotten it.

The Major straightened up and walked over to nurse's office. She told them, no one was to enter or disturb the room holding Asuka. After making sure they understood, Misato left the hospital and entered her car. Driving off to the apartment, she decided she would come back in the morning to pick them up.

* * *

Omake:

"Ah hello Rei. Did you need something?" Shinji asked her.

"Ikari I would like to ask you a question. There was something you discussed with Pilot Sohryu that I found incomprehensible" Rei explained.

"What's that?" he replied.

"What is love? Oh baby don't hurt me. Don't hurt me, no more" she started.

The young boy just looked at Rei confused as she started singing.

"Oh baby don't hurt me. Don't hurt me, no more" she continued.

Shinji could not find the words to speak as he saw the blue haired girl start dancing to the song as she sang.

"What is love? Yea-eh…ah oh ah…I don't know why you're not here, I give you my love but you don't care…"

At this, the young boy promptly went over to Rei and kicked his foot through her body. Various metal parts scattered across the floor and the Rei-shaped robot collapsed to the floor stuttering, still trying to sing, her mechanical limbs flailing helplessly as it tried to dance.

"Replace THAT father, you annoying bastard!" Shinji screamed.

* * *

End Notes: Yay, they finally got together! The angel fight has been vastly improved, but it's still lame? In the end it's hard to think of a plausible way to kill an angel in orbit without using the lance. As always review please.

Extra Notes: If you don't get the omake don't worry, my sense of humour is always strange. Rei is actually singing a song called 'What is Love?' by Haddaway. When I was rewriting this, that song came into my head as soon as she said "What is love?" and I was like 'YEAH I'LL MAKE THAT INTO AN OMAKE!'


	6. Confessions and Discussions

Author's Notes: I can't believe you guys want _more_ sex. I had cut out a whole sex scene in an earlier chapter because I thought there was too much. But hey if you want more sex, I'll give you more. It's a little more kinky than usual, but I don't think it's over the top. Also I'm doing something tomorrow so I won't have a chance to update, but I will try to do it whenever I can.

A note to say this is the rewritten chapter 6.

* * *

Chapter 6: Confessions and Discussions

The sun shone through the window into the hospital room with the white walls and floor reflecting the light, illuminating the room. The increasing brightness caused the female occupant to stir, her sleep interrupted. The redhead stretched her arms as she groaned sleepily and slowly began to open her eyes. She could feel two arms wrapped around her and then remembered that Shinji had stayed with her in the hospital; it would seem he had not awoken yet though. Not wanting to get out of his warm embrace, the young girl yawned tiredly and closed her eyes, relaxing back into him. Her morning would not go as planned, however, as the redhead suddenly felt a strong urge calling her to the bathroom. Asuka let out an annoyed noise as she realised she was in exactly the same situation as yesterday. She quickly pried his arms off her and attempted to get off the bed only to get pulled back.

The redhead sighed in irritation. "God damn it Shinji, I don't want a repeat of this" she said aloud.

The young boy, once again, did not stir. 'Note to self; go to the toilet before you go to sleep with Shinji' she thought. Unfortunately Asuka could not just slip out of his hold because her breasts were too large; he was holding her around the waist after all. Never in her life had Asuka regretted having large breasts till now. Deciding not to elbow him again she instead dug her nails into his arm causing him to instantly release her. The redhead used that moment to jump out of the bed, just in case he somehow grabbed her again. Finally free, Asuka hurried over to the toilet connected to the room and relieved herself. After finishing, the young girl returned to the bed and lay down next to Shinji again. The young boy placed his arms around her waist again and pulled her towards him with Asuka closing her eyes as she relaxed into the boy.

Her break didn't last long though as the redhead's eyes shot open when she felt his hand on her breast.

"A pervert even in sleep" Asuka whispered, rolling her eyes. She couldn't be bothered fighting right now and just allowed his hand to stay there.

It wasn't the end though as the young boy began to gently massage her breast while his other hand slowly moved down to her lower region; at that moment she knew he was awake.

"Baka don't even try" Asuka said warningly.

Shinji laughed at her remark, before stopping his actions. "How'd you know I was awake?" he asked.

"You wouldn't be so bold in your sleep" Asuka explained.

The young boy then scratched his head before answering. "Heh well I'm awake now and we're all alone. Are you sure you don't want to use this chance to do something?" he asked mischievously.

"I'm quite sure I don't want to have sex in a hospital. Didn't you hear what Misato said anyway?" Asuka refuted.

"Ok fine" Shinji said resignedly.

The young boy wasn't going to just lie next to his girlfriend and do nothing though and so he began nuzzling her neck and tickling her stomach softly.

The redhead just groaned. "For God's sake, you'll never be happy with just laying down. You just have to do something don't you?" she let out annoyed.

"Well of course, it's so much fun playing with you. How can I resist the most beautiful girl in the world?" he asked playfully.

"If you can't resist me, then you can't resist obeying my commands either. So get out of the bed right now" Asuka replied, growing tired of his teasing.

"As you wish" he replied pulling her out of the bed with him and pushing her against the wall.

Asuka just sighed in irritation. "The bed was warm Shinji" she stated.

"Well let's keep you warm then" he replied cheekily.

Before the redhead could protest, Shinji brought his lips down onto hers and kissed her hungrily. Reaching down, he began fondling her ass all the while kissing her.

"Mmmpff" was all that could be heard from Asuka as Shinji's mouth covered hers. The young girl struggled a little, but was far too sleepy to make any real effort.

Fortunately, the redhead was soon saved from her 'torment' when the door to their room opened. "Getting a good feel Shinji?" Misato asked as she walked into the room.

Upon hearing his guardian's voice Shinji instantly moved off of Asuka. "Ah Misato I was…um…" he replied scratching his head, unable to think of an excuse.

"I can't believe you're such a naughty little boy Shinji, what did I tell you just last night?" Misato said teasingly.

"Sorry Misato" the boy replied smiling sheepishly.

"You just can't rely on men to keep their word you know" Asuka said annoyed.

The Major chuckled at the redhead's comment before responding. "Yeah yeah I know. Well anyway I've come to take you guys home" Misato announced. At this both eva pilots looked at her surprised; Asuka had only been here one night. "I've already checked Asuka out so she can leave" Misato explained, noticing their faces.

"What? Every time I even get just a scratch I have to stay for at least _three_ days" Shinji whined.

"Well that's because I'm not a crybaby" Asuka remarked.

"I'm not a crybaby!" Shinji replied defiantly.

"Children please, I'm not going to stand here all day. Let's go already" Misato said growing tired of their bickering.

"I am _not_ going home in a hospital gown!" Asuka retorted.

"That's really not my problem, we don't have any of your clothes for you to change into" Misato replied.

"Actually we do Misato, I brought back Asuka's clothes after I came back from the changing rooms remember?" Shinji reminded Misato.

Recollection crossed the Major's face as she remembered the young boy bringing in some clothes and placing them on the table. "Ah yeah you left them on the table" Misato replied.

"Good boy" Asuka said patting Shinji's head.

"See? I can be useful Asuka" Shinji replied sticking his tongue out at her. "Now as a reward I'll just-" he started before having a hospital gown thrown at him.

"Since you like being useful, you can get rid of that for me" Asuka said sweetly.

The young boy didn't mind at all; Asuka standing naked in front of him was good enough of a reward.

"What are you doing Asuka?! Shinji's right next to you!" Misato said alarmed at the redhead stripping in front of the boy.

"Misato we've had sex remember? As such I've seen her naked many times already. She doesn't care" Shinji explained before cupping Asuka's breast with one hand.

Having been taken by surprise, Asuka blushed deeply at the contact before smacking him across the face.

"Shinji, if you do another public display I swear I'll kill you!" Asuka growled. "Hand over my clothes so I can get changed already. Being naked around you seems to just increase your stupidity" she snapped.

"Alright alright" Shinji replied chuckling.

Misato didn't know whether to laugh at Asuka or just stand there shocked at what Shinji had just done to her. It seemed the latter prevailed as the Major stood there unmoving, her face carrying a surprised expression.

The young boy seemed to notice her expression and spoke up. "Don't worry about her Misato. As much as she says doesn't like it, she actually loves it" Shinji said cheekily.

"Shinji! Don't make me repeat myself!" Asuka shouted angrily at him.

This time the male eva pilot promptly went over to the table and dropped the hospital gown on it, before picking up the clothing he had brought from the changing rooms. Shinji quickly moved back over to Asuka and kneeled down in front of her mockingly, before handing over the clothes to her.

"As you commanded" he said playfully.

"You're really asking to get injured Shinji" Asuka said, rolling her eyes at his behaviour.

The redhead wasted no time in putting on her undergarments, wanting nothing more to have some clothes on her.

"I think you look just fine in only your underwear" Shinji commented.

The young girl just ignored him and grabbed her skirt, putting it on. Asuka was soon confused though as she could not find where the upper half of her clothes were.

"Where's my shirt Shinji?" the redhead asked.

"I didn't give it to you?" he asked.

Asuka shook her head in response. Shinji looked back at the table and only noticed the hospital gown; he must have not picked it up, dropped her shirt on the way back when he was carrying it back to the hospital or left it in the car.

"Either I dropped it by accident or I didn't pick it up, sorry Asuka" Shinji explained.

The young girl glared at the boy with both anger and suspicion. "Always so useless" she said annoyed. "Well at least this is better than the hospital gown"

"You can take my coat" Misato offered taking off her red jacket.

"At least someone can think" the redhead said as she took the jacket and put it on. "Ok let's go already. I'm sick of this place"

The three roommates left the room and head down the corridor towards the exit. With Asuka having already been checked out by the Major, the trio just went straight out. Upon exiting, Asuka shivered a little from the cold as she wasn't wearing a shirt; the jacket didn't cover her enough. The young boy held the redhead close to him in an attempt to keep her warm. Walking quickly over to Misato's car, they all got into the car and closed their doors. Turning on the engine, Misato then turned on the heater. The Major then reversed out of her parking spot and exited the car park, heading towards their apartment.

"So do your friends at school know about your relationship?" Misato asked while driving.

"No, it would be a bit difficult with the way things are at the moment" Asuka replied.

"Ok so this was a secret to everyone. Though I'm sure you understand that as your guardian _I_ at least need to know what happened. When we get back home we're gonna have a talk as I need some explanations, so prepare yourself now. I don't want you doing anything in my house either so we might have to work out something there too" Misato explained.

Both eva pilots sighed; they had both been dreading this moment.

They arrived at the apartment all too soon and Misato parked the car on their street. Exiting the car, Shinji picked Asuka up and carried her bridal style, before closing the door with his foot. The redhead had been taken by surprise and did not struggle in case he dropped her.

"Just what are you doing Shinji?" Asuka asked irritated.

"Carrying my beautiful girlfriend" he replied.

"I can walk just fine thank you. Why must you aggravate me so?" the redhead asked sighing.

"Because you're so adorable when you're aggravated" he teased.

Asuka pinched his ear in response. "I'm also violent when I'm aggravated, are you sure it's a good idea to tempt me?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

The young boy gave a weak laugh and continued to carry her. Ignoring her warning, Shinji moved his face down to hers and kissed her.

"Traitor!" someone shouted out all of sudden, causing the two teens to part instantly.

As Shinji looked over to the source of the voice, he saw Kensuke waiting outside their apartment. 'Shit! I don't think we can explain our way out of this one' he thought.

"This is your fault Shinji" Asuka said to him quietly.

"I know" Shinji replied.

The male eva pilot let Asuka down as Kensuke walked up to them.

"Since when did you get together with the demon?!" Kensuke asked.

"She's not a demon" Shinji replied.

"How can you say that? You are the butt of all her jokes and insults Shinji!" Kensuke said in disbelief. The bespectacled boy then turned to face Asuka. "You must be tempting him! Look at your attire! You're just using your body to get to him! Seduction is a weapon women use all the time!"

"Mind not coming to ridiculous conclusions without knowing anything?!" Asuka snapped.

"Well _you_ tell me what's going on then! You insult him at every given moment Sohryu and now I see him carrying you AND you're _kissing_" Kensuke rebuked.

"It's complicated, I didn't expect this would happen either" Asuka replied.

"What do you mean?" Kensuke asked.

"I don't have to explain it to you. What me and Shinji do doesn't concern you" Asuka refuted before turning away and pulling Shinji with her.

The military otaku was not about to give up though and he moved in front of the redhead. "It _does _concern me!" he shouted. "Shinji is my friend and I can't help but worry about what's happening to him"

The purple haired woman was growing anxious, but she didn't want to be rude and tell him off. "Listen Mr. Aida, Shinji is fine. Even though I am also confused about this ordeal as well, I am pretty sure Shinji is willingly with Asuka" she explained, giving him a warm smile.

The bespectacled boy almost melted under the older woman's smile, but his friendship with Shinji overrode his crush on the Major. "So they _are_ together!" Kensuke let out.

"Nice one Misato" Asuka said sarcastically.

"Look Kensuke, I appreciate your concern but it's unnecessary. I'm quite alright. Asuka hasn't done anything at all" Shinji reassured.

"Well then what's the problem with telling me?" Kensuke rebuked. Silence followed as there wasn't really an easy way to answer that question. Noticing their silence he spoke up again. "You may trust her but I still don't, even if she hasn't done anything to you yet. Asuka could easily be fooling you!" Kensuke rebuked.

The situation was getting quite out of hand; some people had started looking over at the commotion and none of them wanted people to start swarming them. "Please calm down Kensuke, you're making a scene. We've got school tomorrow, we can talk then" Shinji said, trying to persuade him.

"If you can talk to me tomorrow, you can talk to me today! It just sounds like you're hiding something!" Kensuke shouted even louder.

"Ok fine, just come with us! We're about to have a discussion about this with Misato, you're not the only one who's confused. You can hear us out yourself" Shinji said giving in.

"What?! You can't be serious Shinji!" Asuka said opposing the idea. "He'll just tell everyone at school!"

"We are wasting time just standing around here!" Misato said growing annoyed.

Seeing only one compromise the male eva pilot turned to his friend. "Listen Kensuke, we'll let you in on only one condition" Shinji said looking at his friend seriously. "You _must_ promise not to mention this to Touji, Hikari or anyone else at school. Nothing about what you just saw or what you are going to hear"

"You can't trust him with that!" Asuka refuted. "He'll just agree now and then go yapping off later!"

"He's my friend. If he promises me then I'll trust him" Shinji replied eyeing the redhead.

"Fine, but it's your fault if anything happens!" the redhead growled before crossing her arms over her chest and staring down at the military otaku.

"Kensuke, this is your only chance" Shinji prompted.

Kensuke hesitated as he could feel Asuka's intense gaze wearing down on him. Pushing his glasses up to his nose, he then looked up at Shinji. "I accept your condition, I promise not to tell anyone about this" he said, agreeing to their request. "But don't think for a second that I support this relationship"

"That's fine" Shinji said in response.

"Now that you've finally cleared everything up, can we go in already? No more prolonging" Misato said impatiently.

"Hold your horses Misato, it's not like we knew Kensuke would be here" Asuka snapped.

"Let's not start another fight" Shinji quickly said, "and Misato, this won't be easy for us so don't rush us"

"Sorry sorry" Misato apologised. "But you must understand my position, so can we please just get inside?" she entreated.

The young girl sighed. "Alright, let's get this over with already"

Thus the four of them entered the apartment building and got into the elevator. After pressing the button for their floor, the elevator doors closed and the elevator began its ascent. It didn't take long for the elevator to arrive at their level and the four of them got out before heading over to their door. Misato opened the door and let the other three in before getting in herself and closing the door behind her.

"I think we should all sit down at the dining table to discuss this" Misato suggested.

The three teens all nodded in response and went over to the dining table before sitting down. The Major went into the kitchen and brought back two glasses of water before setting them down in front of Shinji and Asuka and sitting down at the table herself. There was complete silence as both eva pilots were hesitant to start; neither knowing where to begin or what to say. The purple haired woman waited patiently before breaking the silent pause.

"Well first things first, when did this relationship begin? What caused it?" Misato asked gently.

Asuka sighed before speaking up. "I well…" she began. The redhead took the glass of water in front of her and drank some of the liquid before clearing her throat and starting again. "It happened a few days ago. I was shouting at Shinji to make dinner for me and I was just…really angry that day so I began to taunt and insult him as well"

"Typical" Kensuke said instantly.

"Shhh" Misato said silencing the boy. "Please continue Asuka" she encouraged.

"At first it was nothing out of ordinary, he was just doing his usual sorry act, but with more taunts he seemed to get a little annoyed and I goaded him even further. I was just so…pissed off by his fake personality and so I told him to stop pretending to be such a good boy and that he was just like his father" Asuka continued and then paused.

"I can see Shinji getting upset over this as he is nothing like the Commander, but I fail to see what this has to do with your relationship" Misato said puzzled.

"Let me finish" Asuka replied annoyed.

"Ok sorry" Misato apologised.

"Well you're right about Shinji, only he got quite angry. That was the first time I had ever seen him that mad, so I started backing away. That was when he…he um…" Asuka said trailing off.

"He what?" Misato prompted.

Asuka opened and closed her mouth but could not find it within herself to say it and stayed silent.

Shinji noticed her reluctance and decided to say it for her as he was the one who did it anyway. "I raped her" he said quietly.

Two pairs of jaws immediately dropped to the floor.

"You WHAT?!" Misato shouted in disbelief, wanting to make sure she had heard right.

"I raped her" Shinji said louder.

At this point both Shinji and Asuka had their heads downcast; it was obviously something they both did not want to recall. A long silence had stretched out as the other two digested the information; it just didn't appear at all possible to them. In the end there really _was_ something worse than admitting they had sex after all.

"Shin-man…I know Asuka's bad but you…you did _that _to her?" Kensuke asked, unable to believe it.

"Yeah…" Shinji answered trailing off, unable to say anything else; he didn't want his friend to think badly of him but he wasn't going to give any excuses for what he had done either.

Misato now felt bad towards Asuka as she realised all the stuff she had said and thought about her had been false accusations as all along it had been Shinji who was the culprit. Immediately guilt tore through the Major; it had happened in her own residence while she was out, her own negligence was at fault. Although to be fair she would never in her life had expected something like this to happen.

"I don't understand Shinji…why…how could you?" Misato asked utterly shocked; tears threatening to form in her eyes.

The male eva pilot looked away before answering. "I-I ask myself that same question all the time. I knew I had done something unforgivable as soon as it was over. I knew it was something I should never ever do before I even did it, but all I could think of at the time was…how much she deserved it. I don't…I don't think I'll ever fully understand what made me go through with it" Shinji admitted.

"Shinji…rape is a _very_ serious offence, you go to jail for that. If Asuka had told me what had happened, I would have punished you severely" Misato said seriously. "In fact I still think you should be punished harshly, what you did was inexcusable and the damage you caused Asuka is irreversible" Misato continued angrily.

"Don't think I don't know" Shinji replied, his voice cracking. "I was just so stupid and blinded by rage. Even though I regretted what I did as soon as it was over, I was also scared of what you would think of me. I just…couldn't bring myself to tell you Misato" he said, his head hanging in shame.

"Did you ever once think about how _Asuka_ felt?!" Misato shouted standing up.

"Of course I did!" Shinji replied, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "That's why I've been feeling guilty ever since" he continued, unable to look into Misato's face.

The Major then leaned on the table, using her hands as support. "The _only_ reason I haven't separated you two yet is because Asuka wants to stay with you. But mark my words Shinji, if that hadn't been the case I wouldn't have been able to restrain myself!" she said slamming the table with her hands.

"That's enough Misato. Believe me when I say he knows well enough. I understand your concern but I'm already over what happened" Asuka reassured, calming down the older woman.

The Major sat back down and sighed; even though her anger was justified she knew there wasn't much point in taking it out so hard on him. Seeing that Shinji hadn't spoken one word to defend himself and was currently looking at his feet, she decided to give him a little break and turned to face Asuka; she was more concerned about the incident's effect on the redhead anyway.

"Yeah sorry it's just…I consider this an extremely serious matter. Speaking of which…how did you take it Asuka?" Misato gently asked her. "Of course you don't have to tell us if you don't want to" she added.

"I…I don't feel comfortable talking about that in front of Kensuke" Asuka replied.

"Are you suggesting that I leave?" Kensuke asked.

The redhead simply nodded in response.

"But you promised to explain to me what was going on" Kensuke instantly replied.

"Well…this is very personal. All you wanted to know was what happened and if Shinji was ok. You now know that he…well you know what…and now we are a couple, that's basically all that happened. As Shinji was not the victim, I think you realise now that I didn't do anything bad to get him" Asuka shot back.

The bespectacled boy paused for a moment at her response before speaking up. "But I still want to know the full story" Kensuke replied.

"You don't have any right to know everything about us!" Asuka retorted.

"But that's what we agreed on" Kensuke refuted.

"Mr. Aida" Misato interrupted. "I'm sure you realise how difficult it must be for Asuka to admit what had happened. Surely you can respect her privacy and not make it any harder for her" she said firmly.

The otaku noticed the look in the Major's eyes and sighed. "Okay, I understand" he said standing up from the table. "But before I go, you haven't yet told me when you actually became a couple"

"I suppose that would have been yesterday, during the angel battle, when we finally came to terms with our feelings. The umm…stress of the battle made us both confess to each other" Asuka answered. "Now could you please step out of the room?"

"Where to?" Kensuke asked.

"You can use my room" Shinji answered without looking up.

"Okay" he replied. "When can I come back though?"

"We will call you back later" Misato answered.

Kensuke then turned around and walked over to Shinji's room, before entering it and closing the door behind him.

Asuka waited for a few seconds after hearing the door shut to begin speaking. "What did you want to know Misato?" she asked.

"Just…how you dealt with what happened, I've only heard Shinji's side" Misato answered.

"When he started to…you know…I fought as hard as I could against him, but he overpowered me. I felt…pathetic being unable to do anything while he did whatever he wanted with my body. After a while I couldn't fight back anymore and just gave in" she confessed. "After it was over well…I just grew even angrier with him, I didn't do anything to him if that's why you're asking"

"I see…so did he do anything else against your will? Did he hurt you?" Misato asked her voice full or concern. "You don't have to go into details" she added.

"Not really. Just like he said, right after he did it he regretted it. He even tried apologising to me later in the night, though that just annoyed me" Asuka answered.

"He felt sorry over raping you and that annoyed you?" Misato asked a little confused.

"Well of course!" Asuka replied instantly. "It annoyed the hell out of me that he would do all that and then try to apologise it off as if it wasn't entirely his fault. It pissed me off that he was not accepting the consequences of his actions"

"How did you respond to this Shinji?" Misato said turning to face the boy.

Finally the young boy lifted his head up again to speak. "Asuka's words impacted on me deeply and I saw the truth in her words. It was a very confusing moment for me then as I couldn't understand precisely what Asuka wanted me to do. In the end I decided to…well…have another turn with her and even 'coerced' her into giving me oral sex" Shinji answered.

"This doesn't seem like you at all Shinji" Misato said looking warily at him.

"I don't want to make up any excuses for what I did but…I was a little drugged up and this might have influenced my decisions a little. It was still me who did it though…there wasn't anyone controlling me or anything. I guess it's true when they say that while you're angry you can become capable of doing things you will truly regret" Shinji replied.

"I'm not sure I totally understand. You were drugged?" Misato asked.

"Yeah, someone had done it to me, it was mainly just hormones. We don't know who or how yet" Shinji answered.

The Major paused for a second and then turned back to the redhead. "Let's not get off topic though. I still want to know how Asuka felt about this second incident. Considering both of your responses just now, with Asuka answering 'not really' and Shinji admitting to forcing you again, I want to hear your perspective Asuka" Misato requested.

"Well…I said 'not really' because it was _nothing_ like the first incident. At that point he had already done so much to me it just didn't matter anymore. So it wasn't like he really forced me to, it was more like I allowed him to. And besides…I had already formulated a plan in my mind then to get my revenge on Shinji. I was going to take advantage of the situation and use him to relieve all my sexual frustration and then dump him off later. Considering I couldn't change what had happened I thought it was the perfect plan to get back at him" Asuka admitted.

The male eva pilot himself was surprised to hear this confession and looked over at the redhead. "But Asuka…you couldn't mean that from the beginning you had planned to-" he started.

"Don't be so surprised Shinji" Asuka said interrupting him. "Just as strongly as you regretted having done it to me I felt anger towards you for having done it to me. Did you think I would just accept what had happened so easily Shinji? You know what I'm like, it should be obvious how I would react" she told the boy.

"But if you just wanted revenge Asuka, why didn't you just tell me what happened then?" Misato asked.

"I've always kept things to myself and dealt with my problems myself, this was no different. I didn't want you to find out because…my pride had already been hurt enough and a part of me felt like I had it coming too. I also thought that my plan was much better for revenge as no one would ever find out what had happened as I knew Shinji wouldn't say anything. And hell…I even enjoyed the sex too, it was a great relief from my umm…sexual desires" Asuka answered.

"But Asuka, what he did to you, how could you enjoy that?" Misato asked taken aback.

"Well it was like…in my mind I justified our 'relationship' by making Shinji initiate everything so I didn't have to take responsibility for anything. This was to make the break off easier. As long as I used the excuse that Shinji was 'raping' me, he had nothing against me and we would never have a real relationship" Asuka explained.

Both Shinji and Misato just stared at the girl, shocked to hear this confession.

"Does that mean that everything was just part of your plan?" Shinji asked, unable to believe it.

"I know what you're thinking Shinji, but it's not true. I don't think anything ever goes according to plan. There were so many things that happened which I could not control like Misato being home, only one bra left in the wash and of course me falling in love with you" Asuka replied, smiling slightly. "That had probably been the biggest problem in my plan I think"

"Hold on a minute, you've skipped quite a bit. From what you had said earlier Asuka, I can only see this leading to ruin" Misato interrupted.

"Well it did" Asuka replied.

"So then how _did_ you guys get together?" Misato asked confused.

"I don't think we completely know ourselves" Asuka answered.

The Major sighed before deciding that maybe hearing Shinji's version of the story would help. "Well what was this 'relationship' like from your perspective Shinji?" Misato said turning to face the boy.

The young boy was no longer looking down at the ground and addressed Misato normally. "After the first night I started to see Asuka in a different light. It was like…something inside of me stirred, feelings I never knew were there had been awoken. Although I had been disgusted at myself for raping her, I couldn't help myself showing her affection. I just wanted to make her feel good, I just wanted her to feel happy and so I would make love with her regularly" Shinji answered.

"Why did you continue though? I'm sure Asuka must have protested or given some sign she didn't want to be with you" Misato asked the boy.

"Yeah she did mention it several times but she would still give in and allow me to have sex with her. Now I understand why, but back then it seemed to me like Asuka was just making excuses. It seemed to me like she was just pretending she didn't have any feelings because of her stubbornness. But putting that aside, I also continued because Asuka began to show me a side of her she didn't show anyone else…I think it was then I realised I had always cared about her and wanted to stay with her" Shinji explained.

"I still don't understand how this led to our current situation" Misato said unable to piece together how their relationship had formed. "You must be leaving something out, you even said that your relationship was led to ruin! How did you fall in love with him Asuka? And how did you come to the realisation of it? What sparked you two to finally get together?"

"You're really hooked Misato" Asuka replied chuckling. "Do you really need to know everything?" she asked.

"I just want to completely understand what happened" Misato replied. "Speaking of which…Kensuke also does. Are you willing to call him back now?"

"Yeah I guess" Asuka replied.

"I'll get him" Shinji said standing up from the table and moving over to his room.

The young boy knocked on his door and it opened a few seconds later. "You can come back to the table now Kensuke" Shinji told him.

"Alright" Kensuke replied.

The two boys then returned to the dining table and sat down.

"So where are we up to in the discussion then?" Kensuke asked.

"We're up to how Asuka fell in love with Shinji" Misato answered, a slight teasing smile on her face.

"Oh this I gotta hear!" Kensuke replied eagerly.

"Don't get so excited you moron!" Asuka snapped.

"Please just continue on Asuka" Misato said interrupting them.

"Alright fine" Asuka replied sighing. "Why did I fall in love with him…? Well to be honest I don't really know…perhaps because I came to the realisation that he understood me better than anyone else or maybe because he treated me as a person and not just a girl with good looks. It was most likely many things. After the initial incident he did everything to make sure I was ok, would show courage and not back down from my abuse just to help me. The sync test we had recently shows what I mean pretty well" Asuka confessed. "My respect for him grew as he took responsibility for what he had done. Whenever I had a problem, not once did he ever rub it in my face or take advantage of it. Even after our 'breakup,' though he was extremely angry at me, he still respected my decision"

"You 'broke up'? I thought you never became a couple though" Misato said confused.

"I suppose it is all a little confusing but with us frequently having sex with each other we did form some sort of relationship. Maybe I led Shinji on a little too much, because he must have thought we were a couple. But as I said previously, my initial plan was to take revenge on him…that was why I had allowed it to go on" Asuka explained.

At this comment Kensuke raised his eyebrows, not clearly understanding what she meant. Noticing his confused look, Shinji mouthed 'don't worry' to him and Kensuke nodded in response.

"Anyway getting back to the breakup, I had told myself that he was growing too attached and so I went and told him that we were to stop and that I had just been using him the whole time. However I realise now that it was only because I was scared of having a real relationship with him. Of course Shinji got rather angry and we got into a fight" Asuka continued.

"What happened in this fight?" Misato asked.

"What do you think usually happens in a fight?" Asuka asked rhetorically. "We pretty much just shouted abuse at each other. Shinji called me a slut, which from his perspective made sense, and I think I called him a loser or something for thinking I would want to be together with him. Though no matter how much I insulted him he didn't back down, he refused to admit I felt nothing for him and so I err…pretty much told him to fuck off and leave me alone. I'm not entirely sure why but I also shouted 'I love you' in German at him which Shinji obviously thought was just some German curse" Asuka explained.

"So what did you do Shinji?" Misato said turning to face the boy again.

"I just couldn't take it anymore…her words had really hurt me. No matter how hard I tried she just kept pushing me away so I just…ran away like she told me to" Shinji answered.

"You should know by now that running doesn't solve anything Shinji" Misato said in response.

"I know. That's why I returned to the apartment. I couldn't run away from what had happened and I knew that it was _her_ decision in the end if she wanted to be with me" Shinji replied.

"And what happened when you came back then Shinji?" Misato asked, dying to find out how it had all turned out.

"The front door was unlocked so I went in to check on her. Although when I found her in her room I discovered she was still hostile and, even though I wanted to make up with her, I just blew up and left her room. I couldn't believe how she was behaving like such a selfish…bitch. Even later on she came out of her room just to steal a meal I had made for myself. Although I had noticed her eyes were red, I momentarily thought that she had been crying" Shinji explained.

The redhead gave Shinji a slight nod, making sure Kensuke wouldn't notice. The young boy raised his eyebrows at her and she just shrugged, before he continued on. "I was damn pissed at her behaviour but I was just too emotionally exhausted to get into another fight with her and so I let her have her way. I wanted nothing more than to just rest from the day's events and so I went back to my room and listened to my SDAT Player" Shinji finished.

Predicting the Major's next question Asuka spoke up after Shinji had finished. "I too wanted to rest after the day's events and so I went to sleep in my room. Next thing we know there's an angel attack and well you know the rest" Asuka concluded.

Misato just let out a sigh. They had found love at the age of fourteen; something she hadn't been able to do all her life and when she finally did, her lover died. "What an unbelievable turn of events" the Major remarked. "But it explains everything that happened so well. Also…I believe I owe you an apology Asuka, I had thought all along that you had done something to Shinji, I will admit that I was wrong" she said, holding out her hand to the girl.

"Apology accepted Misato" Asuka replied, shaking the older woman's hand.

With the discussion finally over everyone stood up from the table, wanting to stretch a little. Kensuke, however, remained seated, a pondering look on his face.

"There's still one thing I don't understand. Why were you so afraid of having a relationship with him Asuka?" Kensuke said, finally speaking after the long talk.

"Yeah actually he does have a point, I never did really understand why that was" Shinji agreed.

"That's…something I don't want to talk about right now" Asuka replied grimly.

Shinji looked at the young girl confused, ready to get her to explain it to him but Misato put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

"Maybe another day Shinji" Asuka said, looking away.

The male eva pilot could see there was a deep secret that was still hurting her, something that had happened in her past. He suddenly remembered that night when she had been crying in her sleep and wondered if it was related.

Walking over to the young girl, he leaned in close to her. "Was it about your mother?" Shinji whispered into her ear.

Asuka nodded and said nothing else. Shinji could see now was not the time to press the issue and decided he would find out another day.

With everything said and done, the two eva pilots finally felt relieved at having gotten it off their shoulders.

"Man who woulda thought that you two, out of all people, had sex and became a couple" Kensuke remarked, getting Shinji's and Asuka's attention.

"Man I can't believe I confessed all that in front of you" Asuka replied. "Don't forget your promise stooge, no one is to know about this" she warned.

"Don't worry I'll keep my silence. If I was in the same situation I would have asked you to do the same" Kensuke assured.

There was a moment of silence between the classmates while Misato went to the sofa and sat down to relax; the Major just wanted to rest a little and slowly absorb everything she had heard.

"Though you know, everyone had noticed you two had been acting differently recently" Kensuke started. The two roommates looked at the bespectacled boy with curious faces. "That's why we came over unexpectedly two days ago, to see if we could catch you off guard. We would never have thought it was something like this though"

"What gave you the idea that we were acting strange? I mean you brought over Hikari too, you must have had some really strong evidence" Asuka asked curious.

"Well it mostly because of the way you two were behaving during our lunch together and because of that day when you both disappeared at lunch without telling us where you went. Asuka, you had told Hikari that you were with Shinji discussing Nerv business with the Principal, while Shinji told us that he had done a teacher's errand. We could easily see that one of you had lied and found it to be quite suspicious" Kensuke answered.

The redhead just smacked her forehead in annoyance. "Well of course _Shinji_ would be stupid enough to blow our cover" she remarked.

"Hey!" Shinji shot back.

"Don't be so smug Asuka, the reason I am here today is because of _your_ slipup" Kensuke retorted.

"What do you mean?" Asuka asked back.

"When we came over, it was to see if we could find the reason of your strange behaviour. The other two couldn't see anything unusual though and so we left. However _I_ had noticed one thing; Asuka, you told us Shinji was listening to music yet he was the one who had answered our knock and opened the door" Kensuke explained.

"Ah crap…" Asuka said trailing off.

"Well of course _Asuka_ would be stupid enough to blow our cover" Shinji said mockingly.

"It was your fault for calling out in the first place you dummkopf!" Asuka refuted.

"What were you two doing when we knocked?" Kensuke inquired.

"None of your damn business!" Asuka shouted back. "And even if you _had_ noticed my slipup I still don't see how that brought you here today" she said, changing the subject.

"Well I decided to hack into Nerv to check out if there was anything unusual reported about you two. While I was searching for information, the angel attacked and I decided I would hack the video feed from the cameras to watch the battle. In actual fact I came here because I wanted to see if you were both ok, especially considering what I had seen" Kensuke answered.

"You were concerned about _me_? As if!" Asuka replied.

"Wait a minute" Shinji started. "If you saw the battle, why didn't know about us then? We had said a lot over communications"

"I only had the video feed, that's just what the cameras on the surface could see, there was no sound or communications. To get the audio feed between your evas and Central Command I'd need to be a professional hacker, they have heavy security and I didn't want to be discovered either" Kensuke explained.

"Ah I see" Shinji said understanding.

There was a momentary pause before the female eva pilot broke the silence.

"Well as much as I'd like to stay and chat, I really do need to put on a shirt. You two can talk to each other more while I go to my room. I'll be back quick" Asuka announced before walking off to her room.

Kensuke watched the redhead go out of sight before addressing his friend. "I kinda feel depressed now you know, everyone has a girl" he said sighing.

"What do you mean?" Shinji asked.

"Think about it Shinji, you got Asuka and Touji pretty much has Hikari while I'm still all alone" Kensuke answered sounding slightly disheartened.

Upon hearing his comment the male eva pilot chuckled slightly. "Come on Kensuke, there are some joys to being single too you know, enjoy it while you can" he jokingly teased.

"Well I can see what you mean, especially considering Asuka" Kensuke joked back.

Shinji couldn't help laughing a little at that comment before responding. "Hmm you know you could always go for Rei I suppose. I could recommend you to her" he suggested half-serious.

"Ayanami? Well she _is_ cute but…she doesn't really say much and probably doesn't even know me anyway" Kensuke replied.

"Perhaps all she needs is someone to express herself to. You might be the one to bring the words out of her Kensuke" Shinji said continuing his teasing. "I mean just yesterday Rei came up to me and told me she loved me so-"

"What?!" a loud voice said interrupting him.

The two boys jumped before turning to face the source of the voice; it was none other than Asuka and she didn't look too pleased.

"What's wrong Asuka?" Shinji asked hesitantly.

"You never told me that Rei said she loved you!" Asuka snapped.

"Ah well…" Shinji started, scratching his head sheepishly "it happened just yesterday, so there really wasn't a chance to tell you, besides I forgot"

"So what happened?" Asuka asked annoyed.

"Nothing really. It was just after the angel battle when she came up to me and asked me what love was. After I told her what it meant she replied saying that she loved me. I was also a bit surprised by the conversation" Shinji answered.

"What did she mean by that? What does she want with you?" the redhead asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously on him.

"Well she just said she cared about me, her description was something similar to a sibling's relationship" Shinji answered. "She doesn't want to take me away from you if that's what you're worried about" he added jokingly.

"Baka!" Asuka replied, smacking him across the face. "Are you suggesting that I would be jealous over that slut flirting with you?! Get real!"

"Relax Asuka, it was just a joke" Shinji said chuckling nervously. "Even if she did want to take me away from you, I'm sure you know that I think you're the best"

"Yeah yeah" Asuka said, sounding slightly irritated. "I don't know why you get me so worked up over nothing" she muttered.

The male eva pilot moved behind the young girl and embraced her warmly around the waist before giving her a quick peck on the cheek. The redhead grunted in annoyance but did nothing to move away from the boy. At Asuka's compliance, Shinji began to nuzzle her neck causing her to blush a little.

"What is with you and doing public displays?!" Asuka said turning around and pushing him away.

However Shinji grabbed the young girl's hands and pulled her towards him, bringing her into a kiss. He then brought his arms down around her waist to hold her close to him as he kissed her. Though the redhead still had a blush on her cheeks she did not stop the boy and instead returned his affection. Kensuke just looked at the two of them surprised; even after hearing everything it still seemed so bizarre. The otaku just looked around awkwardly not really wanting to interrupt or say anything while they were smooching. Misato saw the events that had transpired between the classmates and coughed loudly to disrupt their kiss. At this the two eva pilots parted instantly with Shinji still holding onto her.

"There you go alright? Now stop pestering me already Shinji" Asuka complained. The male eva pilot refused to let her go as Asuka tried to move away from him.

"You guys really are into each other" Kensuke commented causing the redhead to turn to face the bespectacled boy, still in Shinji's hold.

"This is all one-sided believe me" Asuka said sighing.

"What do you mean it's 'all one-sided'?" Shinji asked smirking. "You love it all" he said moving his mouth down onto her shoulder, kissing her tenderly.

"God you are such a baka! Just stop doing this in front of other people already!" Asuka shouted in annoyance.

The military otaku just chuckled at their behaviour earning another surprised glance at the boy from the other two. "You two really do act like a married couple, I guess there really was nothing to worry about" Kensuke remarked.

"I don't want to hear that from you-!" Asuka started.

"You really do love him Asuka, right?" Kensuke asked sincerely, interrupting the girl.

The redhead halted for a moment before turning her face away. "Y-yeah…so what?" Asuka answered, blushing.

"Then I guess I'll just have to accept this relationship…good luck you two" Kensuke replied.

"Thanks Kensuke!" Shinji said in response.

"Oh and Shinji-" Kensuke started before he was interrupted by his cell phone ringing.

Curiously the bespectacled boy checked his phone before recollection crossed his face as he saw the caller ID. Kensuke quickly pressed the 'receive call' button before holding his cell phone to his ear.

"Yeah hello Touji, it's me" Kensuke said into his phone.

"Yeah I'm sorry about taking so long, I just…got held up a bit, I'll be there right away"

"Mhm. Once again sorry for making you wait and don't worry I'll be there. Goodbye" Kensuke finished, before hanging up.

Both Shinji and Asuka looked at the otaku curiously wondering what was going on.

"Oh I told Touji I would meet with him after I checked up on you guys. As the conversation had taken really long, Touji had just called to ask where I was" Kensuke said in response to their faces.

"So you have to go now?" Shinji asked.

"Yeah" Kensuke answered, nodding. "I'll just tell Touji the angel battle has worn you out or something. I won't mention your relationship"

"You're a good friend. Goodbye and have fun!" Shinji said letting go of Asuka and shaking his friend's hand.

"You too, I'll see ya later then Shinji. Goodbye" Kensuke replied before the two boys walked to the front door.

Shinji opened the front door and Kensuke stepped through the doorway.

"Bye" Kensuke simply said while waving.

"Bye!" Shinji replied and closed the door.

The young boy turned around and went over to the dining table and sat down, finally able to relax. The redhead moved over to Shinji before wrapping her arms around him.

"Oi why are you acting all stressed out Shinji? Wasn't _I _the one who went through all the hardships?" Asuka teased. "That was far more embarrassing for me you know"

"Yeah I know, but that wasn't an easy thing to admit in front of him either" Shinji replied.

"But in the end everything turned out fine right? It's nice to see you've finally grown some balls after all" Asuka said smirking.

"But you already know that Asuka" Shinji replied grinning.

"You sick bastard! Why do you always have to-" Asuka started.

"So you're friend is gone and you two are already back at the table, that's good" Misato said interrupting them.

The two teenagers turned to face the Major; she had gotten up from the couch and was standing right beside the dining table.

"We still need to discuss your 'activities' children" Misato continued, noticing their faces.

"Oh are you jealous because you're not getting any?" Asuka teased.

"Shut it Asuka" Misato snapped. "You're both still teenagers and it would largely benefit you if you didn't just fuck each other senseless"

"You're such a prime example Misato" Asuka continued tauntingly.

"This is for your own good" Misato continued, ignoring Asuka's remark. "I know what it's like, believe me. But it'll be much better for you if you limit it or don't do it at all till you're older. Unfortunately I'm busy at Nerv, so I can't really keep an eye on you, but I'm asking you as your guardian to listen to me" Misato finished.

"Is that all then?" Asuka replied, not really caring.

"I'm being serious here Asuka, don't dismiss what I'm saying" the Major retorted. This time the redhead did not respond. "There is one more thing I need to ask too"

"What's that?" Asuka asked.

"You told me you wouldn't get pregnant Asuka. I assume that means you're using protection, but I haven't seen any condoms, pill packets or anything for that matter. What the hell are you using?" Misato asked.

"Why should we tell you?" Asuka shot back.

"I need to know" Misato replied.

"What, so you can use it yourself?" Asuka said smirking.

The Major blushed slightly. "Stop it already Asuka! That is not the reason, I just need to know if it's reliable" she rebuked.

"It's reliable Misato, that's all you need to know" Asuka answered.

The older woman was growing tired of the redhead's behaviour but then again it wasn't anything worth getting worked up over and she needed to go back to Nerv now; the aftermath of the angel battle had to be dealt with after all.

"Well unfortunately our discussion has to end here, I can't postpone any longer. With the angel attack I have mountains of work to finish. I was only granted a small break today and must go back to Nerv now" Misato announced.

"Good luck with your work Misato" Shinji replied warmly.

"Doesn't sound like your job is fun at all Misato" Asuka teased.

"Yeah yeah, I guess no one feels sorry for me" Misato said walking towards the front door.

"I'm sure you can handle it" Asuka remarked.

Misato arrived at the front door and opened it before turning around. "Well I'm off then, goodbye now. Please try to behave alright?" Misato implored.

"We will Misato, goodbye" Shinji replied.

At this the Major exited her residence and closed the door behind her before locking it.

The two eva pilots turned to face each other at the same time and then looked away, blushing slightly; Misato's comments had got them both being self-conscious to the fact that they were now alone together. Shinji himself had kind of wanted to have some fun with Asuka now that they were a couple, but he didn't want to betray his guardian's trust either. Unable to resolve this dilemma, the young boy moved off in the direction of the kitchen to prepare some food; after all they both hadn't eaten for quite a while.

"I'm going to make some food now, you're hungry right Asuka?" Shinji asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah…sure" Asuka replied before moving over to the dining table and sitting down.

Shinji watched as the redhead laid her head down on the wooden surface, her expression looking bored, before he entered the kitchen. The young boy then went and opened the fridge, finding more than enough ingredients to make a decent meal. Taking out what he needed, he began preparing a meal for himself and the redhead. As Shinji cooked he began humming quietly to himself. The young boy now felt a lot more at ease than he had yesterday; it seemed just about everything had been resolved. With all his ill deeds having been confessed and still being together with Asuka, he felt like he could finally settle down.

It didn't take too long for Shinji to finish preparing the food and he took the finished meals from the kitchen and placed them down on the dining table. At once the redhead grabbed her meal and began shoving it down her throat; she really was as hungry as he had been. Even though Shinji _was _starving, he still took his time to eat his meal; a fact that Asuka was slowly growing annoyed by. The redhead didn't say anything, but the young boy could sure as hell feel the intense stare he was getting from her; it almost seemed like she wanted him to finish so she could do something. Shinji couldn't help forming a smile as he purposefully ate even slower than before. Asuka didn't take too kindly to the fact that he was enjoying tormenting her and quickly connected a foot to his knee.

"Oww, what was that for Asuka?" Shinji exclaimed.

"I don't know what you're talking about, perhaps you're starting to imagine strange things while you're spacing out instead of eating" Asuka replied, her face irritated.

The young boy sweat dropped at her comment and made sure to finish the rest of his meal so as not to anger her any further. Upon consuming his food, Shinji's hunger was now satisfied and so he stood up from the table. Taking his and Asuka's plates plus the glasses they had left there before he entered the kitchen and deposited it all into the sink. As he returned to the dining room he found Asuka standing next to the table, a strange look on her face.

"Something up Asuka?" Shinji asked.

"I don't know Shinji, we are all alone here together you know…" Asuka said trailing off.

"But Misato said not to-" Shinji started.

"And you're going to listen to Misato now? After all those times, you're not going to go ahead because _Misato_ said it?" Asuka asked; it was evident in her voice how ridiculous she thought it was.

"I know she's not a great example, but she has lots of experience and she's our guardian Asuka" Shinji replied.

"Even so, I know you still want to do it" Asuka shot back.

Shinji just stayed silent in response.

The redhead just sighed. "You know Shinji…have you ever thought about what would happen if you never…forced me?" she asked.

"I…I haven't really thought about it" Shinji answered.

"What would we be like? Would we still get together? Did we miss our chance in becoming a couple normally?" Asuka asked.

"I guess we'll never know…" Shinji replied.

Something flashed across the redhead's face and Shinji couldn't help but think it was regret.

"I don't want to lose what we have right now but I can't help but think…why did it have to happen this way?" Asuka announced.

"I don't know Asuka" Shinji answered.

"When we made love Shinji, it made me forget what had happened momentarily, made me feel like none of that mattered" Asuka started. The young boy just looked at the girl with wide eyes, unable to say anything back. "What do you feel Shinji?" she asked.

"I feel…that I can make you happy" Shinji replied.

"God you're so corny!" Asuka snapped, a small smile forming on her face masked by her anger.

"But it's true!" Shinji replied. "I don't like it when you're sad"

"Yeah yeah, whatever" Asuka said in response before walking off.

The redhead's journey was soon halted as the young boy pulled her back to him, planted a deep kiss on her lips and wrapped his arms around the girl; seeing the girl looking downcast overrode his feelings of betraying Misato after all. Asuka returned the kiss, holding Shinji close to her as well. The two teens parted and momentarily looked at each other before Shinji began to pull off her shirt. The two eva pilots kissed each other repeatedly as the young boy moved the two towards the dining table. Shinji then removed the redhead's bra and let it fall to the floor, exposing her top half completely. Pushing the young girl down onto the table, Shinji then moved his mouth down onto her nipples, sucking them teasingly. Asuka moaned as the boy continued his actions on her sensitive breasts and she felt herself growing quickly aroused.

The male eva pilot couldn't hold himself back any longer as he began to fondle her breasts roughly with his hands, while his mouth kissed her all over her body. The erotic moans Asuka let out had quickly caused a tent in his pants and so he unzipped his pants and pulled them down to relieve the pressure. The only thing blocking his goal now was her panties. Sensing what he wanted to do, the young girl lifted her legs up and he pulled her underwear off with her skirt, revealing her glistening vagina. After the redhead's undergarment had been removed, Shinji wasted no time in stimulating her most sensitive area with his fingers causing the girl to cry out in pleasure. In between Asuka's legs, the young boy could not help but be mesmerised by the faces the redhead was making as he continued to pleasure her. Shinji's hand was all covered in the girl's excitement as he worked his fingers into her, reaching her most sensitive spots and making her moan aloud in accordance.

Removing his hand, Shinji then positioned his cock at the young girl's entrance. Asuka herself wrapped her legs around the boy, her eyes gazing at him. Grabbing the girl's shoulders for support, Shinji shoved himself inside her, causing Asuka to cry out erotically. The feeling of her tight canal never ceased to amaze the boy; it just felt so good. Continuing his thrusting, Shinji could feel Asuka's legs tightening around him and her cries growing louder. Her breasts jiggled constantly with each thrust and the girl's face contorted with ecstasy. The redhead slowly became wilder as Shinji continued fucking her; all the other times she had forced herself not to participate, but with all her feelings now confessed she no longer held back. The young boy was far more than just surprised to see Asuka being so aggressive. The redhead bucked her hips with every thrust, pushing him deeper inside, while also fondling her own breast and running her other hand through the boy's hair. Though Shinji did find her increased involvement quite to his liking.

It wasn't surprising that Asuka was close to the edge already and the male eva pilot could tell; her cries were growing increasingly louder. Thus the young boy doubled his effort in plunging into her as he tried to bring her over faster. It didn't take long for the redhead to cum and she shook violently, screaming Shinji's name in orgasm. As the young girl climaxed, Shinji could not hold himself back any longer and he ejaculated inside her. Shinji could feel the blood pumping through his body and the heavy sweat that covered him; after not having sex for a couple of days it certainly did feel invigorating. The young boy stepped back after Asuka had calmed down, but his rest was short-lived. The redhead unexpectedly jumped up and sent Shinji reeling back into a chair. The boy just looked up at her curiously, wondering what she was doing.

To his absolute shock, Asuka went down on him, her mouth completely engulfing his stiff rod. Shinji was erect in next to no time and the young girl then proceeded to impale herself on his cock and began pumping it in and out of her. The redhead brought her arms around the boy's neck and pulled her closer to him, kissing him hungrily. The male eva pilot could feel her moan in his mouth every time her pussy swallowed his cock. Asuka then moved one hand down his back while the other one placed his hand on her breast. Taking the hint, the young boy began to gently massage the girl's chest and kiss her back just as passionately. Though personally Shinji preferred to be the one on top, he didn't mind not doing all the work for once. Shinji groaned in pleasure as Asuka began to press down on his member with each thrust; this was the first time Asuka actually went out of her way to please him. The two teens momentarily parted and looked at each other as Asuka continued her work. Shinji could feel the redhead's hot breath across his face as she moaned erotically and the warmth emanating from her body as she pressed close to him. The look of rapture on her face was unlike any he had seen before.

"I love you Asuka" Shinji said ardently, reassuring her.

At this point in time, the redhead arched her back and finally orgasmed again. In response Asuka just increased her pace, shoving his cock in as deep as she could while she was orgasming. Shinji made sure to hold her in case she fell backwards; she was moving about quite a great deal. The young boy found Asuka's behaviour to be unbelievably arousing and so shot his cum up her pussy. After this, the redhead finally halted, the girl's heavy breathing was all that could be heard. Shinji's heart was pounding heavily and he was already growing tired. However, the young girl was not finishing there as she moved off the boy and brought her hand down onto his cock. Asuka fondled his testicles and moved her hand up and down his shaft getting him erect once again. The young boy then found himself wondering when she was going to take a break as she once again penetrated herself with his cock. Shinji groaned as his member took the repeated attention; it was starting to become painful as well.

Whereas Asuka seemed to have unlimited energy, Shinji was slowly losing his stamina. It was inevitable that the young boy would eventually lose all control if this continued. It didn't help that the young girl was being overly erotic. The sight of her covered in sweat, her breasts bouncing up and down, her face moaning every time she engulfed his member was just too much for Shinji and he burst inside her, this being the first time they did not orgasm together.

The male eva pilot decided he needed to take control of the situation again and stood up abruptly, forcing Asuka to grab onto Shinji so she didn't fall over. The redhead looked at the boy curiously, an annoyed expression on her face.

"I haven't cum yet Shinji, why did you stop?" Asuka asked irritated.

"Because I can't keep up, let me rest a little" Shinji answered, smirking.

"Come on, I was so close!" Asuka replied back.

In response, the young boy placed the girl back onto the table and moved in between her legs. Before she could do anything, Shinji grabbed her legs and locked them in place before going down on her pussy with his mouth. The redhead could not hold back her cries of ecstasy as the young boy probed her super hot and sticky vagina with his tongue. The male eva pilot savoured the taste of her pussy as he delved as deep as he could inside her. Shinji's nose occasionally brushed her clit as he gave her oral sex, causing her to jerk every now and then. Shinji found his head being forcefully pressed into the girl's lower region as she held him tightly around the head. The young boy could feel how taut the redhead's legs were and how wet the girl was; her juices were all over his face.

Seeing how much Asuka was struggling, Shinji knew she wanted her release and so he assaulted her clitoris. The male eva pilot sucked her little nub viciously, while occasionally flicking it with his tongue, causing the redhead to finally go over the edge. The young girl screamed loudly as she came and her body trembled with each wave of pleasure. Shinji made sure to hold her legs tightly as he continued to lick, suck and attack her pussy. His face was getting drenched in the girl's fluids as he tried his best to drink her. After she came down from her climax Asuka pushed Shinji's head away from her, having had enough for the moment.

The young boy moved away from the redhead and sat down on the chair. Shinji noticed the girl was panting heavily and it took a while before she sat up and moved off the table. Asuka's legs were shaking as she stood up and she accidentally tripped over before Shinji caught her.

"Watch it there" Shinji said grinning.

"I'm fine" Asuka said brushing him off.

The redhead moved away from the boy and entered the kitchen. She returned with a glass full of water and drank the contents before setting the empty glass down on the table.

"You know I was pretty amazed actually, you were so full of energy this time. What was up with that?" Shinji asked as he saw the girl return.

"You didn't like it or something?" Asuka asked annoyed.

"Of course I did! I was just wondering where it came from, you never did anything like that before" Shinji answered.

The redhead just sighed. "What does it matter? If you don't appreciate my efforts I just won't do it again" she replied.

"God you can be so annoying sometimes Asuka" Shinji said sticking his tongue out at her.

"Honestly, is it such a big deal if I do something like this?! I was just making up for all the other times where I pretty much just sat back and did nothing" the redhead replied back angrily.

"Relax Asuka I _am_ grateful, I was just curious is all" Shinji said in response.

"Yeah yeah" Asuka said rolling her eyes. "So why did you _really _stop me?" Asuka asked.

"What, do you think I took Viagra or something? You really were wearing me down" Shinji answered.

"Hmpf, I thought you could last longer than that" Asuka said mockingly.

"Yeah yeah, sorry for not meeting your expectations" Shinji said sarcastically. "But I doubt you could survive constant, repeated attention either" he added.

"I can last longer than you for sure. I reckon I could _easily_ handle anything you throw at me, in fact I'm pretty sure _you'll_ get tired before me any day" Asuka said defiantly.

"So who was it who fell asleep after having sex hmm?" Shinji asked teasingly.

The redhead blushed slightly before responding. "That was just because I had barely eaten anything that day, I was tired before you even started, what with the all that day's events" Asuka retorted.

Shinji chuckled slightly at her justification; it seemed as though the sad face Asuka had on earlier had now completely disappeared. "Hah then prove it. Show me you can handle _anything_ I throw at you, otherwise it's just empty words Asuka" Shinji challenged half jokingly.

"You're on baka!" Asuka replied instantly.

Shinji was a little surprised the redhead accepted this challenge, but decided to see how it would play out anyway; after all it appeared like she was back to her usual self. "Ok, just don't complain later" he said smugly.

"As if I could lose" Asuka rebuked.

At this, the young boy abruptly picked Asuka up before carrying her over to her room.

"I can walk you know! Why does you always do this?!" Asuka said annoyed.

"Because I can" Shinji simply replied.

Asuka just sighed in response.

Opening her door, Shinji entered the girl's room before laying her down on her bed. After letting her down, the boy stood up and turned around.

"Where are you going?" Asuka asked curiously.

"Just wait here, I'll be right back" Shinji replied. "You'll see what you got yourself into Asuka" he added smiling.

The redhead watched the boy as he exited her room, not liking his smile one bit.

Shinji went back to the dining room, put the chair back into place and wiped the table clean with a cloth. The young boy had a rough idea of what he could do with Asuka, but he needed some means to prevent her from halting him in any way. As Shinji looked at the cloth he was holding, he suddenly formed a plan in his head; the perfect scheme to prove the young girl wrong. The male eva pilot deposited the used cloth in the washing basket before retrieving two new ones and returning to Asuka's room. As Shinji reentered her room, the redhead looked up at him curiously. The young girl in question was lying back on her bed; she hadn't bothered covering herself at all as she was still quite warm from their previous activities.

"You're not planning on cleaning my room or something are you?" Asuka asked puzzled.

"Heh yeah right, these are just to insure your cooperation" Shinji said in response.

"What on earth do you mean?" the redhead asked confused.

"Well, you _did_ say you could handle _anything_ right? I'm just going to tie your arms to the bed with these so you don't go back on your word" he answered, holding the cloths up.

"You gotta be kidding right? Why do you have to tie my arms? I've already said I won't stop you" Asuka retorted.

The young boy didn't think she'd agree straight away, but he knew he would lose against her if he didn't do this so he tried to convince her.

"Then there's nothing to be afraid of is there? If you're not going to stop me then it doesn't matter if your arms are tied now does it?" Shinji argued.

"I could say the same thing, if I'm not going to stop you, then it doesn't matter if my arms _aren't_ tied either" Asuka countered.

"Come on Asuka, the challenge _did _specify _anything_. That includes me tying your arms up. Just consider it a safety measure to prevent you from injuring me" Shinji persuaded.

The redhead paused for a bit as she thought about the proposal. "Oh fine whatever, it's not like it makes a difference" Asuka replied, throwing her hands up in the air. "I trust you won't do anything funny though right?" Asuka warned.

"Of course" Shinji answered honestly.

"Alright go ahead and do it" Asuka said reluctantly.

The young boy went and took the redhead's right arm and tied it to one end of the bed and then did the same with her left arm leaving her completely vulnerable. Asuka couldn't help but feel a little scared and excited at the same time as she realised the only thing she could do now was shout in protest. Shinji moved his hand under her armpit and tickled her gently. The redhead instantly laughed in response and tried her best to close her arms but found it impossible.

"Come on Shinji, you just said you wouldn't do anything funny!" Asuka shouted angrily between laughs.

"I was just testing" Shinji replied chuckling.

The redhead glared at him in response. "You know Shinji…if I win this challenge, I am going to tie _you_ up and do anything I want to you alright?" Asuka replied venomously.

The young boy sweat dropped at her threat and hoped he really could pull it off. "It's only fair I suppose" Shinji agreed.

Asuka let out a breath as she prepared herself. "I don't how you convinced me to do this Shinji…" Asuka said trailing off.

"Honestly I don't know either" Shinji replied smirking. "Guess I'll get started then" he said slowly moving down towards her.

The young boy planted a kiss on the girl's lips and they shared a passionate kiss before Shinji parted and began stroking her lower lips with his fingers. At once the redhead began to quiver from the contact and she let out a small moan. The male eva pilot then began to slowly kiss his way down her body all the while gently stroking her slit. Even though Shinji knew that Asuka hated it when he teased her, he also knew she could endure it; he was doing this purely to annoy her. He was soon proven right when the young girl groaned in irritation as he moved his mouth down to her stomach and tickled her lightly with her tongue. Shinji could see her arms tensing up, but her bounds restrained her well. Ever so slowly he moved further down to her mound of red hair only to move back up to her stomach, all the while lightly stroking her lower region with his fingers.

"All you're doing is pissing me off even more Shinji" Asuka said angrily, not too impressed with his teasing.

At this Shinji just pushed three fingers up her wet cunt as far as he could, causing the girl to suddenly cry out and arch her back. But instead of thrusting them into her, the young boy just slightly wriggled his fingers while inside her, much to the redhead's frustration. While Shinji worked on her pussy, his other hand caressed her breasts. The young boy rolled her nipples between his fingers and playfully flicked and pinched them. Asuka wanted nothing more than to smack the boy so he would stop his ridiculous teasing, but she found it impossible to do so as her arms were tied. The male eva pilot planted wet kisses all over the girl's chest as he continued playing with her, making sure to tickle the valley between her breasts with his tongue.

Just when Asuka was going to shout at him, Shinji moved the hand playing with her chest down to her vagina and began to tenderly play with her clit. The redhead shuddered as he made contact with her sensitive bud and she found herself squirming a little as he rubbed and flicked it. The young girl wished he would move the fingers inside her cunt even just a little bit, but he just kept them stoic with an irritating wiggle every now and then. Shinji then began pressing down hard on her clit once in a while, making the girl jerk violently. Asuka was already growing tired of the boy's actions, but she knew it wasn't anything she couldn't endure; if he kept doing this, she would win for sure.

It was then that Shinji brought his lips down to her private region and caressed her clitoris with his tongue. The redhead moaned in pleasure as she felt his hot, wet tongue stimulate her most sensitive spot. Now that she was finally getting some real attention, she could feel herself getting closer to the edge. However Shinji had other ideas for her and stopped sucking her clit as soon as she was about to orgasm, much to Asuka's dismay. The young boy then removed his fingers from her soaking cunt and brought them to his mouth, licking the girl's juices off them. His fingers had been so long inside her now that her pussy felt a little empty when he removed them.

Shinji then brought his erect cock to her entrance and rubbed her slit with it. For Asuka it was just pure torture; after having been so close to cumming and now having Shinji rub his cock against her vagina was just too much. All he had to do was push it inside her and she would orgasm, but he continued to tease her and she could not bring herself over the edge. The redhead was now openly showing signs of discomfort as she growled in frustration. She could easily handle constant and repeated attention as long as she got to cum, but denying Asuka her release was something she hated and could not handle; it seemed Shinji knew this.

"You…you bastard Shinji, is this what you had planned the whole time?" Asuka asked furiously.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Shinji said innocently.

"This isn't fair at all Shinji!" Asuka complained. "Untie my arms already"

"You can't turn back on your word now Asuka" was all Shinji said.

The redhead just groaned as she was slowly growing more aggravated; there was nothing more she wanted now than to just orgasm. Asuka wished she could even just finger herself, but her bound arms prevented her from doing so; Shinji really had her this time. Just to rub it in her face, the young boy stimulated his cock with hands and shot his semen all over the girl's stomach. Asuka just gave him a look of disgust at his actions; she knew he was taunting her. Added to that, she now had the feeling of a warm and sticky fluid on her abdomen and there was nothing she could do about it.

The young boy then stopped all his actions and brought his lips down to her face. The redhead would not give him the satisfaction of kissing her and she turned her head away as he came closer. Shinji just chuckled at her behaviour and kissed her neck instead, using his tongue to tickle the hollows in her neck. After the young boy was certain her body had calmed down, he thrust his three fingers up her vagina again and the girl cried out erotically. As he began to pump his fingers in and out her, the redhead's face looked almost grateful; it seemed she had been waiting for her release the whole time. But Shinji wasn't going to give it to her, just as she was about to go off he halted his actions. The redhead did not want to lose her chance of orgasming and quickly tried moving up and down on his fingers to stimulate herself, but Shinji quickly removed his fingers from her wet cunt. Asuka just looked up at the boy in disbelief; her pussy was aching for a climax.

"For God's sake, just let me cum Shinji!" Asuka shouted out, her voice sounding almost desperate.

"You can handle _anything_ Asuka, is that right?" Shinji mocked.

"Damn you can be a prick sometimes Ikari!" Asuka retorted.

"Hey, _you_ accepted this challenge you know" Shinji countered.

"But you're cheating!" Asuka protested.

"Don't make excuses Asuka" Shinji teased.

"I don't care what you wanna call it, just let me orgasm!" Asuka replied anxiously.

"Alright I'll let you orgasm…on one condition" Shinji proposed.

Asuka's eyes narrowed on the boy suspiciously. "What do you want?" she asked.

"Because you lost the challenge, you will be my slave all of tomorrow and you will do anything I say" Shinji answered.

"How can I accept such a ridiculous proposal?!" Asuka instantly refuted.

"Oh well" Shinji replied once again beginning his playful stimulation.

The redhead gritted her teeth as he continued his work. Despite not having orgasmed at all since he had started this, she was starting to feel a bit sore now. Her head was spinning as all the pleasure she was getting was being counteracted by the prolonged feeling of being unsatisfied. Asuka didn't know how much longer she could last this type of attack, but she didn't want to give in to his demands either; she was really cornered this time. The redhead decided it was better to have Shinji stop rather than continue and so she kicked his hand away and closed her legs tightly. It was a futile effort really; it's like not like it really prevented him from stimulating her lower region.

Shinji, however, found this act of defiance to be quite amusing. In response he moved his erect cock just over her entrance, prodding it gently as if asking for entry. Asuka just bit her lip, knowing he was just teasing her; as soon as she opened her legs he was going to play with her again. But having the object of her desire constantly trying to push its way into her was just an unbearable torment for the girl and she eventually gave in and opened her legs for him. The redhead was proven right as Shinji moved in between her legs as soon as she opened them, making it impossible for her to close them again. Asuka just looked up at the boy glaring, making sure he knew how much shit she would give him after this.

Though the young boy found her stare to be quite frightening, he still proceeded to continue with his playful torment and moved his fingers back inside her vagina as her arms were bound. The redhead just moaned in protest, not wanting anymore of his teasing.

"God Shinji, I can't stand it anymore, please just let me cum" Asuka pleaded.

"I told you the condition" Shinji replied.

"You damn asshole" Asuka shouted back, refusing to admit defeat.

At this, the young boy only increased his torture. He slid his fingers around her swollen clitoris and thrust his fingers inside her wet pussy before removing them for a while and doing it again. The redhead was so wet she had soaked the bed sheets below her quite considerably. The young girl kept thinking that if she endured just a little longer Shinji would stop or let her cum. Unfortunately, even after a while, he never did and Asuka was growing desperate, she wanted nothing more than to just have her release; she didn't care about losing anymore.

"Alright Shinji, I fucking agree. I'll be your damn slave tomorrow, just let me cum already" she let out reluctantly.

"You are one stubborn girl Asuka" Shinji replied, amazed at how long it took for her to give up.

The redhead was too tired to fight with him anymore and just stuck her tongue out at him. Relief soon washed over the young girl's face as Shinji penetrated her with his cock. Asuka quickly wrapped her legs around the boy, as if to make sure he wouldn't run away. The redhead's cries of pleasure were unlike any she had let out before as the male eva pilot thrust as hard as he could into her; she was finally receiving her long awaited reprieve. Just as Asuka was about to orgasm, she held onto him tighter with her legs and looked into the boy's face, pleading for him not to stop. Shinji kept his word however and went through all the way pushing her over the edge. The young girl then orgasmed with phenomenal energy; all the built up pleasure was released in a massive torrent.

"Oh God! Yes!" Asuka screamed.

It was an incredible sight for Shinji as he watched the redhead convulsing fiercely. Amazingly the young boy had triggered a multiple orgasm, something Shinji thought he'd never see. Asuka came again and again, crying out loud in pleasure every time, her body jolting with every wave of pleasure that hit her. The male eva pilot's cock suffered repeating clenching as Asuka climaxed continuously and he exploded inside her. Slowly releasing her pent up energy, the young girl eventually came down from her orgasm. As soon as she had stopped, Shinji could see her breathing heavily, her eyes looking almost glazed over; she had obviously never felt anything as intense as that before. Seeing that it was over, Shinji moved off the girl and untied her arms. As the redhead let her arms down, the young boy noticed her arms were trembling.

"H-Holy shit that was insane" Asuka let out before looking at Shinji menacingly.

"D-Don't look at me like that, you did get something out of it after all" Shinji replied nervously.

"Oh ha, forgive me for not being grateful" Asuka shot back sarcastically.

"Come on Asuka, it wasn't that bad was it?" the boy said, attempting to quell the girl's wrath.

"Even _you _know you're full of it Shinji" the girl snapped. "But don't worry you're in luck today. I am totally exhausted right now but…I _will_ get you back for this later Shinji"

"I can't wait" Shinji said chuckling weakly before lifting the girl up and embracing her warmly.

Asuka didn't have any strength left in her to resist him, besides it was a little comforting after all that she had undergone. Shinji looked up at the clock in the girl's room and saw how late in the afternoon it was; even taking the discussion they had into account, they must have been fooling around for quite a while.

"Now get lost Shinji, I want to rest" Asuka ordered.

"Are you sure you want to sleep covered in sweat, my semen and god knows what else?" Shinji asked. "Your bed sheets are messed up too" he added.

"And whose fault is that Shinji?" Asuka asked irritably before sighing. "Just go get some new sheets while I go have a shower"

The redhead then stood up unsteadily before heading over to the bathroom to wash herself. Shinji watched the weary girl exit her room and let out the breath he was holding in; he had gotten off easy for the moment. Not wanting to waste anymore time, the young boy pulled off the girl's bed sheets and exited her room. Moving over to the laundry, Shinji deposited the dirty sheets into the washing machine and then got some new bed sheets. Returning to Asuka's room, the male eva pilot fixed the fresh sheets onto her bed before going to the bathroom to check on the girl. As he approached the bathroom, the boy heard the sound of running water and he tested the door to see if it was locked. Shinji found himself being able to open the door and so he entered the bathroom. Upon entering, the boy noticed Asuka leaning against the wall as the hot water poured all over her.

Though Shinji found her position slightly amusing, he thought it was best to ensure she was ok and entered the shower cubicle. The young boy lifted her up slightly and the redhead looked up at him confused.

"What are you doing in here?" the girl asked a little surprised.

"You don't want to have a shower together?" Shinji teased.

"Why would I?" Asuka replied annoyed.

"Here I'll help you wash up" Shinji said, ignoring her question.

"Whatever" she replied tiredly.

The young boy then proceeded to wash Asuka's whole body, wiping all traces of their excitement off of her. Shinji loved the reaction Asuka gave when he washed her private areas; it seemed her body was still in shock over what had happened. After he finished washing her and himself, the boy turned off the water and the redhead yawned tiredly, clearly showing her fatigue. Thus the male eva pilot exited the shower cubicle and took a towel which he used to dry both him and Asuka with. After they were dry, Shinji picked up the young girl and carried her back to her room; the girl didn't see a point in struggling as she was exhausted anyway.

Shinji then laid her down on her bed and pulled the covers over her. The redhead stretched lazily before the young boy joined her under the covers.

"Shinji…I just wanna sleep now" Asuka said sincerely.

"Relax, I won't do anything" Shinji reassured.

"You'd better not" she said sleepily.

The young boy then kissed her gently on the cheek, before wrapping his arms around her and laying his head on her chest. The redhead rested her arms around the boy before dozing off and the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

A purple haired woman was currently crying silent tears as she entered her office. It wasn't the fact that she had entered her office that had caused her to become upset, no, it was the instantly visible mountain of paper on her desk. It seemed all the paperwork had insidiously made its way into the Major's office, a fact Misato was not too happy about. It wouldn't have been as bad if it wasn't for the fact that she had just finished a whole stack and gone for a small break only to come back and find even more. It always seemed like whenever she was almost finished, more miraculously appeared.

"How do they always manage to find their way into my office?" Misato said out loud before sighing.

The Major then entered her office without closing her door and just stared at the documents, hoping that if she stared hard enough it would just disappear.

"I just want to burn it all!" she shouted out loud. "I bet Ritsuko never has to deal with this shit!"

"Putting up with you is more than enough Misato" a voice said from behind the Major.

The purple haired woman quickly spun on her heel to see the amused face of the blonde doctor.

"Ah hey Ritsuko, how's it going?" Misato replied sheepishly.

"I'm fine Misato, but I'm not so sure about you. What was all that shouting about?" the doctor asked, smiling a little.

The Major hung her head like a little child and pointed behind her to the two, storey high stacks of paper on her desk. "I don't wanna do it!" she said immaturely, stomping her feet.

Ritsuko just laughed at her friend's behaviour before responding. "Yeah, you always hated paperwork"

"If there's someone who enjoys doing it, give it to him instead!" Misato snapped.

"I think you need to take a rest Misato" Ritsuko said smirking.

"I already took a break and came back to find even more had 'materialised'," Misato said annoyed.

"Come on let's go have a talk, it'll be a relaxing break and the workload might even decrease when you come back" Ritsuko said, attempting to persuade her friend.

"Unfortunately, despite it being able to magically appear the reverse does not hold true" Misato remarked.

The blonde woman chuckled again before exiting the office. "Well it's your choice Misato, but we haven't had a good talk in a while. I'd appreciate it if you came" she offered.

"Alright alright, I'm coming" Misato said accepting the doctor's offer.

The purple haired woman exited her office and closed the door behind her before the two of them walked off with Ritsuko in the lead. The two friends walked in silence as they made their way to the Nerv cafeteria. Misato was really tired as it was quite late at night and she wanted nothing more than to just go to sleep, so it was probably in her best interest to drink some caffeine.

Arriving at the cafeteria, the two of them sat down at a table and ordered some coffee. They relaxed in their seats while they waited for their beverages to arrive. The two women looked at each other for a bit before the blonde woman spoke up.

"So Misato, how are the children?" Ritsuko asked.

Misato paused momentarily before responding. "They are fine I suppose, just before I came back to Nerv I had them explain to me their behaviour over the last couple of days. They at least seemed relieved at having told someone about their relationship. I really can't tell how they're feeling at this point but I can see that they are genuinely happy with each other" Misato answered.

At this point, a waitress brought over their two drinks and Misato picked hers up and began to sip it.

"So what did they confess?" Ritsukp asked curious.

"Hmmm I'm sorry but that's quite private…all I can say is that they had a rough beginning. But you should know anyway considering that you knew about this relationship before me" Misato replied.

"Asuka didn't tell me anything other than that she was having sex with Shinji, she didn't even tell me what protection she was using" Ritsuko remarked.

"You too huh? I wonder what they're being so secretive about, just what the hell are they using? There's no sign of anything at my apartment, so I'm stumped" Misato said, speculating in her mind what it could be.

"Well they are definitely using something, Asuka is surprisingly fertile and she would most certainly be pregnant by now if they weren't using anything" Ritsuko commented.

"How do you even know Shinji has…'released it inside her'?" Misato asked quietly.

"I'm quite sure he has ejaculated inside Asuka's vagina, I found the 'evidence' when I did my physical examination of her" Ritsuko replied loudly.

The Major blushed. "Not so loud Ritsuko, and let's just get off this topic anyway" she said quickly.

"I don't see why _you're_ embarrassed Misato, but back to our original matter. I just wanted to know if the children will still have good sync ratios or if their relationship will hinder it" Ritsuko asked.

"Is that all you think about? How this benefits Nerv?" Misato asked annoyed.

"You don't always have the Commander down your back now do you?" Ritsuko shot back.

"Well I'm pretty sure their sync ratios will be fine, as I said before they are genuinely happy with each other" Misato answered.

"That's good to hear. This relationship is also good for them considering what they've been through. Although you have to wonder how two totally opposite people fell for each other?" Ritsuko mused.

"You know what they say, 'opposites attract'," Misato joked.

"We can hardly apply laws of science onto human interaction" Ritsuko remarked.

"Well in a way they are also similar" Misato replied yawning.

"You must be really tired Misato. You've had to deal with all this work and the kids too" Ritsuko said a little sympathetic.

"Yeah, it has been a little hectic recently, and it's still not done yet" Misato replied, remembering the work still in her office.

"I'll tell you what. I'll give you a day off tomorrow right after you finish your work tonight. Who knows, you might finish by early morning" Ritsuko said optimistically.

"There's no way I can finish it in the morning, but thanks for the day off anyway Ritsuko" Misato said gratefully.

"You never know Misato" Ritsuko replied smiling.

The Major just looked at her friend curiously before standing up from the table. "Well, see ya then Ritsuko" Misato announced.

"Goodbye" the doctor replied.

Leaving her empty coffee cup on the table, Misato turned around and head back to her office grudgingly. Walking down the empty, poorly lit corridor only added to the woman's dreariness. Upon arriving at her office, she walked into it and sighed miserably before looking up.

The Major could not help rubbing her eyes and making sure she was seeing things properly; there was only one stack of paperwork left on her desk. Misato was sure there had been two stacks before she had left with Ritsuko, or maybe her memory wasn't as good as it used to be? A little skeptical, the Major looked under her desk and around her office to see where it had disappeared, but found nothing.

"I don't how you did it but, thank you Ritsuko!" Misato said aloud before getting back to work.

With her workload cut significantly, the Major was sure she would be getting home much earlier. Added to that, Ritsuko had given the day off; she could finally get some long awaited rest. And so the purple haired woman looked forward to the next day, wondering how things would turn out with her two wards.

* * *

End notes: You might not be a fan of tying up people, but you would think Shinji, after being henpecked continuously by Asuka, would try this right? Regardless this chapter was mainly for all those people who wanted more lemon, so as always review plz :D.

Extra Notes: I'm sorry about how long it took for this rewrite to be posted. The reason was this was probably the hardest chapter to rewrite thus far. The original chapter 6 was just so bad, I had to change quite a bit, plus university has been really busy recently. Anyway I hope you'll stay with me, I only have a few more major rewrites left (chapters 7 to 9). After which the rest of the chapters will be easy to rewrite (it'll probably be just grammatical fixes only).


	7. Today You’re Mine

Author's Notes: If you don't mind people, I would really appreciate you not flooding a review with 'This is a pointless waste of time and space.' If you have something you wanna say, by all means post it and criticize me and bag out my story I do like honesty, but flooding is just plain stupid and annoying. To answer the other question though, Ritsuko doesn't know that LCL acts as a contraceptive because she never thought about it other than its use in the evangelion. There's a bit of WAFF in this chapter.

A note to say this is the rewritten chapter 7.

* * *

Chapter 7: Today You're Mine

The shrill sound of an alarm clock went off in the Katsuragi apartment signifying that the morning had come. It was no surprise that the noise stirred the two resting teens from their deep slumber. The sleepy redhead shot her arm out from underneath the covers to stop the alarm clock. When the alarm was stopped, the young girl relaxed her arm and shifted a little. It was then that the male eva pilot rose from his wonderful spot slowly and rubbed his eyes tiredly; he was trying to fathom why the alarm clock had been set to go off today. Asuka sat up gradually and looked at the boy, also slightly confused. It suddenly clicked in their minds at exactly the same time; it was Monday.

"No way, today is Monday" Shinji whined.

"Best we start getting ready for school then" Asuka replied happily with a grin.

The young boy turned to look at the redhead feeling cheated.

"You knew today was Monday didn't you? That's why you gave in yesterday and agreed to be my slave for today. Jeez I can't believe you can deceive me _even_ in a situation like that" Shinji said disbelievingly.

"You should know by now, I'm just that much more superior than you" she said sticking her tongue out at him.

The male eva pilot wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug grin off her face; how was it that he was always outsmarted by this girl?

"You're not getting away with this so easily though" Shinji replied, not wanting to lose his chance; he still had her for some of the day.

"You'd best hurry, school is starting soon" Asuka mocked.

The young boy quickly thought about something nasty he could do with her. Not having much time to decide what to do, Shinji just chose to go with the first thought that had come into his head, even though he knew it was pretty stupid.

"Alright _slave" _Shinji emphasised, "come with me to the dining room" he ordered getting out of her bed, still completely naked.

"Whatever" Asuka replied.

The young girl stretched and got out of her bed, also completely nude, before following Shinji as he walked to the dining room. When they arrived, the young boy motioned towards the dining table as if instructing her to go next to it.

"Get onto the table and spread open your legs" Shinji dictated.

"You can't be serious-" Asuka started.

"Do not question me slave!" Shinji interrupted; a small smile on his face.

The redhead just rolled her eyes at him and went along with his command. Asuka got up onto the dining table and then spread her legs open in front of him. The young boy's cock twitched as the girl promptly obeyed him, the sight of her spread legs was also quite arousing and his cock was fully erect in next to no time. The redhead just looked at him curiously, unable to work out what exactly he wanted to do. The male eva pilot wasted no time in moving his fingers down to her lower lips to stimulate her. Asuka moaned accordingly, enjoying the pleasure. Shinji continued his actions until he believed she was wet enough.

After Asuka was ready, the young boy moved in between her open legs and pushed himself inside her. The redhead was still a little tired from the exertion yesterday, but she had agreed to let him do whatever he wanted and so didn't resist him. She couldn't help crying out in pleasure as he penetrated her, though it was much quieter than usual. Asuka found her position a little uncomfortable as Shinji didn't support her at all, forcing her to prop herself up with her elbows. Every time the young boy thrust into her, she felt her elbows rubbing painfully against the hard table. The redhead found herself yawning more than moaning and just wished she would hurry up and orgasm already.

It only took a few more minutes of Shinji plunging into her to bring her over the edge and the girl gave a small cry as her body climaxed. The young boy soon followed suit and shot his cum up her pussy, making sure to cum inside her. After he finished depositing his load, the male eva pilot moved off the redhead. As the redhead began to close her legs, the young boy stopped her and shook his head.

"Wait here a moment and don't move" Shinji instructed.

"What on earth are you planning?" Asuka asked perplexed.

"What did I say before? Don't question me" Shinji replied, pretending to sound annoyed.

"You're enjoying this way too much" the redhead said sighing before remaining still on the table.

The redhead watched the young boy suspiciously as he walked into the kitchen, speculating about what he was going to do. A few noises could be heard from the kitchen and Asuka wondered if he was looking for something. After a few minutes of waiting on the table, completely naked with her legs spread open, the boy returned with a spoon and a cup. Asuka could not help raising her eyebrow at him.

"What are you going to do?" Asuka asked, genuinely confused.

"Just don't move" was all Shinji said in response.

The young boy moved right between the redhead's legs before bringing the spoon over to the girl's pussy and pushing it inside. Asuka grunted in discomfort at having a cold metallic object placed up her vagina. The redhead tried to understand Shinji's actions, but was at a loss; she assumed that maybe he was trying to enact one of his perverted fantasies. However what the young boy did next was completely baffling; he began scooping their sexual secretions into the cup. Asuka found herself wiggling uncomfortably as the spoon scraped her vaginal walls as he scooped her juices and his semen into the cup until he was sure he had gotten everything. The young girl finally relaxed when he removed the utensil from her pussy and moved back to the kitchen. Seeing as Shinji hadn't said anything and her curiosity was killing her, Asuka got down from the table and entered the kitchen to see what he was doing.

Asuka turned to look at the young boy when she arrived and was surprised to see him adding various ingredients to the cup; mostly butter, milk and eggs. A look of horror could be seen on the redhead's face as she watched Shinji place the mixture he had created into the waffle maker.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Asuka asked shocked.

"What does it look like? I'm making breakfast of course" Shinji replied innocently, turning on the machine.

"That's disgusting!" Asuka said appalled.

"I'm sure you will enjoy your breakfast this morning" Shinji replied sarcastically.

"I refuse to eat it!" she retorted.

"You can't possibly refuse a meal that your master has cooked especially for you" Shinji said mockingly.

The redhead narrowed her eyes at the boy loathingly. "Manipulative bastard" she mumbled.

The young boy couldn't help chuckling at her response before a small smirk made its way onto his face. "You know, the waffles will take a little bit to cook. Why don't we get dressed while we're waiting, after all we wouldn't want Misato to walk in on us like this" he suggested.

"That's the first good idea you've had today" Asuka said venomously. "I think I'll take any opportunity not to be naked around you"

"A slave that doesn't want to please her master…how troublesome indeed" Shinji said playfully.

"Oh just shut up with that already" Asuka snapped, before storming off to her room.

The male eva pilot just grinned slightly before moving off to his room as well; he was finding this much more entertaining than he thought it would be. After entering his bedroom, Shinji opened his wardrobe and took out his school uniform before changing into it. Having dressed up, the young boy then exited his room and returned to the kitchen to check up on the waffles. After checking the dish, he decided only a few more minutes was required before they were ready.

It was then that Asuka, fully dressed in her school uniform, returned to the kitchen and leant against the bench top. Shinji noticed the girl come in and turned to face her.

"Your breakfast will be ready very soon" Shinji announced.

"I am just bursting with anticipation" Asuka replied sarcastically.

"That's excellent! You'll be the first to try it" Shinji replied back.

The redhead decided it was better she keep her mouth shut and remained silent. It didn't take long at all for the waffles to finish cooking and Shinji opened the machine to take them out, placing them onto a plate. The redhead then moved back into the dining room and sat down at the table as the young boy brought the plate of waffles over to Asuka.

"Go ahead and have a bite of this wonderful meal" Shinji insisted.

"I couldn't possibly eat this food, I would rather my master would not worry about me and eat this all for himself" Asuka retorted.

"But I care about my slave so much that I simply must insist that you eat this, you wouldn't refuse a gift from your master would you?" Shinji replied.

Asuka knew that he had much more of an advantage in this game and that she would not be able to win this battle. Sighing, the redhead reached out and grabbed one of the waffles on the plate. Just as she was about to take a bite, the front door opened.

"I'm home!" Misato called out.

"Welcome back!" Asuka called back in response, hoping that maybe the Major could save her.

The purple haired woman approached the dining room when she heard the redhead's reply and noticed the smell of cooked food.

"Mmmm what's smells so good?" Misato asked, her mouth watering.

"That would be these excellent waffles that Shinji made, why don't you eat some Misato?" Asuka suggested, hoping the Major would eat all of them.

Accepting Asuka's invitation, Misato sat down at the table as well. "I haven't had waffles in ages, great idea Shinji!" she replied, eagerly grabbing a handful of them and wolfing them down in ravenous hunger.

The young boy looked a little shocked as his guardian ate the waffles he had prepared.

"Damn these are good! There's just something about them that tastes delicious, something familiar actually and I can't quite place it, but whatever extra ingredients you used are just perfect" the Major said happily.

The redhead suppressed a laugh at the older woman's comment before turning to face Shinji and smiling in triumph. "You seem to like these waffles a great deal Misato, why don't you have all of them" she offered, handing Misato the waffle she had in her hand.

Shinji, however, was not about to let Asuka get away. "But you haven't tried one yet Asuka, surely you're hungry?" he asked her, a slight grin forming on his face.

"I'm not going to eat them all if you haven't had any, go ahead and eat some too Asuka. I know how much you love waffles" Misato replied.

The young girl glared daggers at the boy before reclaiming her waffle. So as not to cause any suspicion, Asuka was forced to take a bite of the morsel. As she began to chew, the redhead was pleasantly surprised to find that the added 'ingredients' indeed made it taste better. 'It doesn't matter what's in these anymore now that I've taken a bite, these taste really good!' she thought, before taking a few more and eating them contentedly.

The Major noticed the redhead beginning to finish off the rest of the food and quickly intervened. "Are you not going to save any for Shinji?" she asked.

"Why?" Asuka shot back, mouth full of food.

"Yeah good point, better if there's more for us" Misato replied jokingly.

"Misato, what do you mean by that?" Shinji said, sounding a little hurt.

"Relax Shin-chan I was kidding" the Major replied grinning, handing him one of his waffles.

The young boy received the offered food and took a bite, surprise covering his face as he did so; it would seem they really were delicious. Shinji no longer hesitated and took a few more waffles, still amazed at how good they tasted.

"Shinji, you gotta make these again sometime" Misato announced happily.

Both Shinji and Asuka choked momentarily on their food at their guardian's comment; it was highly unlikely they would ever make them again, most likely because the redhead would never allow it again. Silence followed for a bit too long and Shinji knew he shouldn't have delayed his answer.

"Y-yeah sure" Shinji said after the awkward silence.

The older woman looked at the boy strangely before brushing it off. Misato then yawned quite audibly and Shinji just noticed how tired she looked. The young boy recalled her words yesterday and realised she had not come home till now since yesterday.

"You look really tired Misato" Shinji said concerned.

"You look half-dead" Asuka commented.

"Yeah I am, I think all the coffee I drank is wearing off" Misato replied with another yawn. "Though thankfully I have the day off today"

"Well then you don't need to worry about us Misato, just go get some sleep" Shinji requested.

"Yeah I think I will, you chu make shhure you get to shhool" their guardian replied, her speech a little mumbled from yawning at the same time.

"We will" Shinji assured.

The older woman stood up and blinked her eyes groggily before moving off to her bedroom. The male eva pilot looked at his watch when Misato was out of sight and realised that he still needed to make their lunches as school would start soon.

"I better start preparing our lunches now" Shinji announced to Asuka.

"Yeah I'd rather not have to eat at the cafeteria again" Asuka replied.

"The slave should actually be making the food for the master" he said cheekily.

The redhead just gave Shinji a menacing look in response.

"B-but of course I'm such a loving and generous master that I am willing to make the lunches myself" he said quickly.

"I'll go get my bag" was all she said.

The young boy watched Asuka walk to her room before turning his attention back to the kitchen. Shinji quickly got to work and begun preparing their lunches for school. The young girl returned to the kitchen and dropped her bag onto the floor, seeing as her roommate was still making their lunches. Noticing that Asuka had entered the kitchen, Shinji momentarily stopped what he was doing and turned to face her.

"Go get my bag as well" he commanded.

"Asshole! You shoulda told me before" the redhead complained.

"Don't talk back slave!" Shinji retorted.

Deciding it was better she just let it go, Asuka mumbled something under her breath before going off to Shinji's room to get his bag as well.

Shinji just smiled; being able to talk back to Asuka without getting injured was quite fun. He also knew that he shouldn't get too carried away, if anything the redhead excelled at getting revenge. At that thought, the young boy made sure to quickly finish preparing their bentos.

The redhead returned to the kitchen with Shinji's bag, her face looking displeased. The male eva pilot wisely chose not to say anything when she dropped the bag on his foot and instead just continued finishing their lunches as if nothing had happened. Soon the young boy had completed their bentos and as such handed Asuka her lunch. The redhead placed her bag over her shoulder before moving off to the door without waiting for the boy.

"Wait a second!" Shinji ordered.

Bound by her deal with the boy, Asuka was forced to stop in her tracks. "What?" she asked annoyed, turning to face him.

The male eva pilot placed his lunch inside his bag before moving over to the young girl and closing the distance between their lips. As he planted his kiss, Shinji wrapped his arm around the girl's waist and pulled her closer. He parted after a while and looked into the girl's eyes grinning. The redhead just raised an eyebrow back at him.

"You weren't going to leave without giving me a kiss were you?" he asked.

"Retard" she replied shortly before turning around and heading towards the front door.

Chuckling nervously, Shinji then quickly followed after her as she opened the door and exited their residence. Locking the door behind him, the young boy then grabbed Asuka's hand and led her down the stairs.

"You know, it wasn't very nice making Misato eat those waffles" Shinji told Asuka as they exited their building.

The redhead just started snickering.

"It's not funny Asuka" Shinji said, clearly not amused.

"Oh yeah? Didn't you hear her say, 'there's just something about them that tastes delicious, something familiar actually and I can't quite place it,' I mean she just _has _to be a whore" she replied still sniggering.

"Yeah just like you" he said sticking his tongue out at her.

The redhead just sighed at his comment. "At least it's only with one person" she countered.

The young boy just smiled at her response. Still holding Asuka's hand, he started walking faster, pulling his girlfriend along with him.

"Are you in a hurry to get to school or something?" Asuka questioned.

"It'd be good to explain our new relationship as quickly as possible don't you think?" Shinji answered.

"You're not talking about revealing that we're boyfriend and girlfriend to the class are you?" Asuka asked immediately, halting for a moment.

"Isn't that the best thing to do?" Shinji replied.

"Didn't we just tell Kensuke yesterday not to tell anyone about it at school because it would cause problems?" Asuka refuted.

"But I was just thinking that…yeah I suppose you're right…" he replied and they started walking again. "So…how will the situation at school be then?" he asked.

"Easy. We act how we've always acted at school, like we aren't together" she answered.

"Back to getting ridiculed and insulted huh?" Shinji said with a sigh.

"You should be used to it by now, besides it's not so bad if you just ignore my insults" Asuka replied.

"It's not just insults though" he answered back laughing. "But I suppose I should be used to it, after all you still do it to me even now" he joked.

The redhead punched the boy in response. "Well excuse me! You're the one who acts like a moron, otherwise I wouldn't need to do anything" she said angrily. "I suppose confessing my love, fucking you senseless and being your slave today just isn't enough?"

"Jeez I was kidding…we won't mention the relationship alright?" Shinji assured.

"Hmpf" was all Asuka said before letting go of the boy's hand and moving in front of him.

The male eva pilot just resigned to his fate and walked the rest of the way to school in silence with Asuka in the lead. It didn't take long for the two eva pilots to reach the front gates of the school and they entered the school building. Shinji was focused on the young girl in front of him as they walked, speculating about what was on her mind.

The redhead suddenly slowed her pace almost making Shinji trip over as he tried not to bump into her.

"Don't slow down so suddenly Asuka" Shinji said impatiently, lightly pushing her forward by her backside.

"There's a damn yoghurt spill on the ground baka, I don't wanna step in it" Asuka replied.

Unfortunately for them, there was another person present who could see Shinji's hand firmly pressed against the redhead's buttocks.

"What's this?! Shinji is groping the demon's ass?!" the person proclaimed.

The male eva pilot quickly removed his hand and turned to see Touji looking at him, his face shocked. 'Shit! I totally forgot we're in school' Shinji thought.

The boy's thoughts were soon interrupted, however, by a jarring blow to the jaw. It would seem the redhead had elbowed him in the face; hard.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Ikari?! If you ever touch me again you will regret the day you were born!" the girl shouted at Shinji, glaring furiously at him.

'Man that hurt' Shinji thought, nursing his jaw.

The jock came over to his injured friend to inspect the damage. "Wow Shinji, she hit ya real hard, I think it's gonna bruise" he remarked.

"Yeah, I didn't even mean to do that…" Shinji replied weakly, his mouth in pain.

"Don't worry, it's normal for guys to want to touch a girl's ass…you just chose the wrong girl" Touji replied.

"Shut up you perverted hentai!" Asuka said snarling. "Don't give that boy any ideas!"

"Hey I'm just educating my poor disadvantaged friend here. Because of ya strict controlling, Shinji here has been deprived of all the normal things a teen boy _should_ perform" Touji retorted.

Shinji himself smiled inwardly at that comment; he was 100 percent certain he had done far more than Touji ever had.

"Don't corrupt this baka any further! Unlike you other stooges at least he practises some restraint. Don't ruin my good work!" Asuka refuted.

"What he wants to do is not up to you, ya damned demon" Touji argued.

"I'm right here guys, I _can_ speak for myself" Shinji said timidly, trying to interrupt their bickering.

"You stay out of this" both Touji and Asuka said at the same time.

The male eva pilot just sweat dropped at the two. 'I don't think this argument is about me anymore…'

Fortunately for Shinji the school bell rang, preventing any further quarrelling between the two rivals.

"Let's just go to class" Shinji said, interrupting their stare down.

The two aggressive classmates turned away from each other and began to walk towards their classroom, both of them making a defiant grumble. A strange thought entered Shinji's mind as he saw their behaviour. 'With the amount those two argue, you would think that they got along really well…'

Shaking his head, the male eva pilot followed the other two to the classroom. Upon entering their room, the three of them went to their seats and sat down. Their teacher came in shortly, preventing Shinji from any possible discussion with his friends, before Hikari stood up to say "Rise! Bow! Sit!"

As the class began, the teacher, surprisingly, did not start on his usual ramble but instead stood up to make an announcement.

"Everyone, I'm sure you all know that we have a school play to present soon. As such, the first half of school today will instead be used to start practising this play" the teacher declared.

The entire class cheered; they were all grateful for not having to endure another mind numbing lecture.

"We will start straight away, so everyone go down to the stage room now except Miss Horaki. Remember, no running and don't wander off anywhere" the old man instructed.

"Yes sir!" the class replied before getting up from their seats and piling out of the classroom.

As the students exited the room, Shinji made sure to follow closely behind his girlfriend. All the students became tightly packed together as they made their way to the school stage room. As such, the male eva pilot found himself right behind the redhead and he moved his head forward a bit to whisper in her ear.

"You know I believe I deserve some compensation for that elbow earlier, it really hurt" Shinji told Asuka quietly.

"It's clearly your fault for groping my ass in school" Asuka whispered back.

"Even so, you could have hit me a lot softer" he replied.

"I made it look more authentic" she justified.

"I'm _so_ grateful that you made sure it looked and _felt _real" he replied sarcastically.

"Stop complaining about it already" she whispered, growing annoyed.

Shinji moved his hand down to her side in response.

"What are you doing Shinji?" she asked.

The male eva pilot did not reply but instead began to gently tickle her side.

"I would ask that you refrain from doing anything stupid, you were just caught and it would be real suspicious if you were caught again!" the redhead continued, keeping her voice low.

Shinji then grabbed hold of the girl's hand that was resting by her side. "Surely holding your hand is a meagre compensation for what you did" he replied.

The redhead sighed as the boy gripped her hand. "Whatever" was all she said in reply, grasping his hand as well.

"Don't worry Asuka, there's much more in store for you at lunchtime" Shinji informed.

The redhead could not turn around to glare at the boy and instead opted to stomp on his foot. It took all of Shinji's willpower not to jump or cry out in pain as her heel crushed his toe. The male eva pilot let Asuka have her victory for now and resolved to get her back later; after all at lunch she was all his.

Once the group of students had reached the stage room, the crowd began to disperse and Shinji was forced to release the redhead's hand and move away. Despite her defiance, Asuka had held his hand warmly the whole time. The class entered the stage room and clustered around the front of the stage, talking excitedly about the play. Standing behind the group of students, the teacher called for silence and everyone turned their heads to face him. The class rep was standing next to him and both of them were holding a big stack of paper.

"Does everyone know their roles for the play?" the teacher asked.

A big chorus of 'yes sir' was heard in reply.

"That's good to hear, but if you are confused about your part just come and speak to me after. I have the list of roles with me" the old man declared. "Now we need to get this started so we will begin by reading the first scene of the play, please get a copy of the script from Miss Horaki or myself. Let's also try to enact it after"

"Hai!" all the students replied.

The entire class each took a copy of the script of the play from the class rep and the teacher and begun to read through the first scene. As Shinji and Asuka were the main characters they had to learn many lines. The first scene included them both and they were studying the section vigorously.

The play was set in medieval Europe and it was a story about romance. Shinji was a knight who diligently followed his code of chivalry, while Asuka was a princess being brought to his country as an arranged marriage for the king. The first scene involved the princess being brought by a carriage with an escort. Other classmates made up Asuka's guards. The students all got ready to begin reciting their lines, there wasn't enough time left to practise the actions so it was just going to be speech.

Soon the teacher gave the signal to begin and Asuka spoke up.

"What a lovely day it is today" the princess said to her cohorts. As they weren't doing actions and they didn't have any props, it was difficult to tell what was happening. The princess was talking to the men outside the carriage through the open door.

"Aye my lady" they replied back.

"How long till we reach the castle of Galatia?" she asked.

"Only three more days my lady, we are very close to a town called Petermby, we will have a rest there soon" her guide answered.

"Good to hear, this carriage is getting quite unbearable" she replied.

"I apologise for your discomfort my lady" the rider said humbly.

"It is no fault of your own that this terrain is merciless, be at ease" the princess remarked.

At this point the princess was meant to close the door of the carriage and remain inside. This is where Shinji entered the scene; in the play he was to be trailing behind the carriage on a horse as he noticed it.

"Those are no ordinary guards escorting that carriage…perhaps it's an emissary?" the knight said to himself. "I will ride by it and ensure its safety"

It was now that the carriage ahead of the knight would be stopped by a suspicious person. It was none other than Touji playing this character.

"I'm very sorry, but you must stop this carriage" the suspicious man demanded.

The carriage would come to a stop and the rider would address the man blocking the road.

"Is something wrong good sir?" the rider asked.

"Yes…your journey ends here! ATTACK!" the man shouted, unsheathing a sword.

Here several brigands would launch an attack on the carriage. As the knight sees the carriage stop followed by men coming out of the forest to assault it, he rides his horse forward to help them.

"Faster my friend, I must go help them" the knight urged his horse.

The focus returns to the princess in the carriage who is confused about what is happening.

"What is going on men?" the princess asked opening the carriage door.

The guide would quickly enter the carriage and close the door.

"I cannot believe it myself but we are being attacked my lady! We've already lost four men and things do not seem to be going our way" the guide explained hurriedly.

The princess paused momentarily before speaking up. "I will go outside and deal with our assailants. I do not wish anymore of my men to die" she announced.

"But your highness, it is not safe!" the guide implored.

"I give the orders here, I will go out" she commanded.

"Yes your highness" the guide said resigning.

It was now that the princess would step out of the carriage and momentarily stop the fighting.

"Stop this barbaric behaviour, I have not done anything to warrant being attacked" the princess announced.

"Ah so you must be the princess" the lead brigand verified.

"I am, and what of it? Surely you understand how foolish it is to attack royalty" the princess replied.

"Not foolish if you think of the potential profit. It is quite simple really, I capture you and then sell you as ransom. I'm sure you understand, so to make this easier for everyone please just cease resisting" the brigand explained.

"I think you overestimate yourself. I refuse to give into those demands" she said defiantly.

"It is unfortunate of you to say that. A shame that these men now have to die" the leader said disappointedly.

At this point the knight would charge in on his horse.

"In the name of justice I will fight you bandits! You will not get away with this" the knight called out.

"Get him!" the leader shouted.

The knight would then grab the princess and hoist her onto his horse and run off.

"What about my men? Turn back! I command you!" the princess shouted at him in outrage.

"Do not worry my lady I sent for reinforcements, I only grabbed you so they would not use you as a hostage" the knight explained.

"I could have handled myself fine, thank you very much" she spat back.

"Forgive me but you are a lady, you could easily have been harmed" the knight replied.

"I will not suffer your insults! Let me off at Petermby, I will consult your lord and have you flogged!" the princess shouted.

"Who are you to have so much authority?" he asked.

"You don't even know who I am?! I am Princess Sankt. I have come to your country to marry your King" she answered.

"I apologise your Highness, I was ignorant. I will make sure you get safely to Petermby then. That is my duty as a knight" the knight replied.

"Very well, I will suffer your company till we reach the town, I hope for your sake my men are well" the princess said venomously.

The knight would then stay silent and bring the princess to the town and let her off. While the two of them are waiting for Sankt's men to return, the knight strikes up a conversation.

"Your highness if it is not too forward of me I would like to make a suggestion" the knight said beseeching the princess.

"Speak" was all she said.

"I have put much thought into this and I believe it would be far safer for you to travel to the King with me" the knight suggested.

"Why would I willingly suffer your company any longer? As soon as my men arrive I will continue the journey with _them_" the princess replied.

"I implore you your Highness, the roads are not as safe as they used to be. A lone horse rider brings far less attention than a carriage with an escort. We can escape easily and I know this country's terrain quite well. My only wish is for you to arrive safely to the castle and I swear as a knight that I will do my best to do so" the knight replied, kneeling down in front of the princess.

The princess would then pause to think about his offer.

"Rise sir knight" she commanded.

"Yes my lady" the knight said standing up.

"I see the merit in your proposal, I will discuss it with my men. Though I believe your plan to be quite sensible" the princess explained.

"Thank you my lady" the knight replied.

"What is your name sir knight?" the princess asked.

"I am Sir Jonathan" the knight answered.

Asuka instantly burst out laughing at Shinji's response.

"What was that miss Sohryu? You're not supposed to laugh" the teacher said with a frown.

"Sorry Sensei I couldn't help it, I just thought it sounded so funny" Asuka answered.

"We had done our lines perfectly up until then Asuka, why ruin it?" Shinji said a little annoyed.

"You try hearing that and keeping a straight face" Asuka replied giggling. "Besides it's no big deal" she added.

"Well as class time is almost over, I suppose it doesn't matter this time Miss Sohryu. But try to do it perfectly next time" the teacher replied.

"Hai" the redhead said in reply.

"Alright class that's it for today, next practice session we'll have the costumes and props ready. We'll being doing setting up and actions then too" the teacher announced.

Just as the teacher finished talking, the bell rang for lunch and the students rushed out of the stage room. Shinji was sure to take hold of Asuka's hand before she got a chance to run off and the girl glared back at him.

"Today's lunch will be spent with just you and me Asuka" Shinji explained after seeing her look.

"Why did I agree to be your slave…?" Asuka mumbled, clearly regretting her decision.

"Beats me Asuka, but I'll sure make use of your promise while I can. We should go tell the others we won't be with them this lunch" Shinji replied.

"Asshole" the redhead murmured before going over to Hikari.

Shinji then moved over to his friends and told them both that he would not be with them at lunch as he was going to discuss something with the teacher. After explaining it to them, his two friends moved off and Shinji turned around to see if Asuka was ready. Seeing Hikari walking away from the redhead he then motioned to Asuka for her to follow him; the girl had no choice but to follow him. Shinji led Asuka back to the old storeroom they had used before. The young boy took a quick look to see if anyone was around before entering the storeroom. After Asuka got inside, he closed and locked the door before moving over to the redhead.

"Now just relax and enjoy this Asuka, there's no need to be so edgy" Shinji told her after seeing her anxious face.

"Well there must have been a reason you wanted me to be your slave today and I don't know what you're going to do to me, of course I'm worried" Asuka retorted.

Shinji chuckled a little at her response. "There isn't enough time during lunch for me to try anything grand" he replied.

"That's true" she said sighing in relief.

This time, the young boy laughed before reaching under her skirt with his hand. Slipping his hand into her panties, Shinji then began to rub the girl's pussy. Asuka instantly tensed up and grabbed his arm, glancing up at him with a vexed look.

"I don't want my panties to get wet…" the redhead said sounding a little embarrassed, "take them off first" she added quietly.

Shinji found her request to be quite cute and went ahead and removed her white undergarment before pocketing it. He then returned to his playful stimulation of her crotch and the young girl moaned softly. The male eva pilot slowly backed her up against the wall and thrust his fingers into her.

"What…are you going to do?" Asuka asked between moans.

"No questions allowed slave and I think it's high time you started calling me master" Shinji replied teasingly, moving off of her for the moment.

"No way!" Asuka refuted.

"That should have been 'no way _master._' Say 'sorry master' right now!" Shinji instructed.

Ironically enough, these two words were probably the most difficult words for Asuka to say and she had to say them _together_.

"Sorry…master" she finally said; it had been extremely arduous for the redhead to vocalise those words.

Shinji felt his cock twitch when he heard that; he couldn't believe how arousing Asuka could be. Though the young boy would have liked to have a little more fun, he knew there wasn't much time left and thus decided to get straight to it.

"Open your legs!" he ordered.

The redhead did so reluctantly, exposing her to attack. Shinji then picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist such that she was resting on his hips. The young boy pushed his cock up her vagina, already wet from his previous actions, and the redhead could do nothing to stop it. Asuka reasoned that if she was going to have sex she might as well enjoy it and cried out in pleasure with each thrust. Shinji continued to shove himself inside her and the redhead held onto him tightly even though she was backed up against the wall. The redhead's erotic noises stirred up the boy; every single time she produced one.

"God I love all those noises you make" Shinji announced.

"You pervert" Asuka managed to reply with.

"I didn't tell you to stop though!" he said quickly.

To emphasise his point, Shinji began to pound even harder into her, only increasing her moans. Truth be told, he rather preferred just making her feel good; he wasn't actually planning to have any sort of repeat of yesterday's actions. But he did enjoy keeping her submissive at the moment, besides 'master' had a nice ring to it.

"Damn this feels so GOOD!" Asuka cried out erotically, "I'm already really close Shinji!"

At her announcement the young boy burst inside her, unable to hold himself back any longer. Asuka soon followed and orgasmed intensely, digging her nails into his back and biting him hard on the shoulder. Shinji didn't flinch at all but instead just continued to thrust inside her till she came down from her orgasm. The young boy then let down her legs and leant on the wall, exhausted from the exertion. The redhead herself was also leaning back on the wall, trapped between Shinji's two arms, perspiration covering both of them.

Finally the pain in Shinji's shoulder kicked in and he instinctively relieved the pressure on his shoulder by retracting his arm. Unfortunately he did it too quickly and found himself colliding into the unsuspecting girl.

"Ouch Shinji, what are you doing?" Asuka asked annoyed.

"It's actually your fault for becoming a vampire" he retorted, trying to sound serious.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Asuka replied, completely baffled by his accusation.

"Well you seem to be sucking my blood" he answered.

The redhead suddenly felt the taste of blood in her mouth and she looked over at his body and noticed his shoulder was bleeding. Asuka was a little shocked as she had not intended to bite him at all; thankfully it wasn't a serious wound.

"I'm sorry Shinji" she replied, truly apologetic for having bitten him involuntarily.

The young boy found her apology quite surprising, almost thinking there was an ulterior motive.

"Why are you behaving submissive all of a sudden?" Shinji asked curiously.

"Hey! _You're_ the one who wanted me to be your slave!" she retorted snidely.

"But it's so much more fun when you resist" he joked.

The redhead sighed. "Shinji…" she started.

"You keep referring to me by my first name! Please I've told you before, address me as 'master'," Shinji instructed immediately.

"_Master_" she said dryly. "I wish for you to stop making me call you master"

"But I _am_ your master today" he replied teasingly.

"Honestly Shinji you're asking to get injured" Asuka warned.

"You already _have_ injured me, you keep talking back to me and called me by my first name again, your disobedience will be punished" the young boy said smiling.

The redhead just groaned, wondering what she had got herself into this time. Shinji couldn't help but find Asuka's aggravation to be quite adorable and thus went ahead and kissed her. After parting from the girl, the male eva pilot noticed that Asuka was quite hesitant to speak now; he assumed she was afraid he was going to ask something embarrassing of her. He wondered how she was dealing with the situation and momentarily questioned if he should continue; it wasn't like he wanted her to actually suffer.

"It's not that bad is it Asuka?" he asked her, trying to see how she was coping.

"Not so bad is it?! You're taking advantage of me and making all those pompous remarks" she burst out. "But don't worry I'll keep my word. Though I will NEVER call you master again after today"

"I didn't think you would ever call me master regardless" Shinji replied teasingly. It seemed the redhead wasn't in any anguish. "So…about your punishment you aren't to wear any underwear for the rest of the day, including your bra"

"You can't ask that of me! Are you crazy?!" she shouted at him in disbelief.

"Well I suppose it is a bit much, I'll let you keep your bra on but your panties stay in my pocket" he compromised.

"Just fabulous" she said sarcastically.

In response to her comment, the young boy nuzzled her neck lovingly while his hand stroked her hair. Shinji brought his lips down to hers and the two kissed fervently. Asuka brought her arm around his waist and pulled him closer to her while she continued to kiss him deeply.

"We should start going to class" Shinji said after parting.

The young girl stood back and pulled down her skirt as far as it could go; making sure it covered her exposed region well.

"You know I can't actually tell you're not wearing them" Shinji observed.

"Yeah? What if the wind blows up my skirt? What if some pervert looks under my skirt or trips me over?" Asuka listed.

"Are you kidding Asuka? I don't think anyone would ever dare to do that to _you_. Besides I'll be with you just to make sure" he reassured.

"I feel _so_ much better now" she replied sarcastically.

Shinji then remembered his shoulder had bled and that some of the blood had gotten on his shirt. Taking this into account he decided he needed to clean himself up at the restroom before going back to class.

"Ok Asuka, I have to make a quick trip to the toilets to clean off this blood. Do you want to go back to the classroom yourself or come with me?" Shinji asked the redhead.

"I don't have a choice at the moment, I am not walking around alone without any underwear" Asuka replied.

"Then let's go" Shinji replied back.

Thus the two eva pilots exited the storeroom and began their trek to the male toilets. Asuka felt awkward walking around without her underwear and she subconsciously kept her legs closer together while walking. The two teens reached a pair of stairs and just as Shinji was about to start walking up Asuka held him back.

"I-I gotta go first so that you can cover me from behind" the redhead said embarrassed.

The young boy couldn't help a slight smile forming on his face and he stood still letting his girlfriend go first. As Asuka walked up the stairs, Shinji looked up at her to see if she was rightly concerned and sure enough got a good view of her bare backside. The redhead turned around as she noticed Shinji wasn't next to her and caught him staring up her skirt.

"You are a total baka! The whole point of me going first was for you to cover me, what if someone came now?! You just don't think!" the young girl yelled at Shinji, blushing whilst keeping her skirt down as much as she could.

"Sorry, sorry" Shinji quickly replied, hurrying up the stairs to cover her from behind.

"And don't say sorry!" she shouted smacking him. It was clear that she was quite mad at the boy.

"I w-was just…I mean…I w-wasn't trying t-to-" Shinji stuttered.

The redhead sighed calming herself down. "I am trusting you Shinji, please take this a little more seriously. I am only going through with this because of you, remember that" she said looking at him in the eyes sternly.

"I understand" Shinji replied sheepishly.

"Good" the redhead replied back, before turning around and continuing up the stairs.

The young boy followed closely behind making sure that if anyone were to look up from the bottom of the steps they would not be able to see under her skirt. Upon reaching the top of the stairs the two eva pilots then head over to the male restroom. Asuka stood outside while Shinji went inside to wash off the blood as best he could. Leaning against the wall, the redhead waited impatiently for her boyfriend to finish.

In the quiet atmosphere of the school corridor the sudden sound of a rumbling stomach was heard. The young girl found herself cursing her stupid roommate; she questioned why he had even made them bentos if they weren't going to have enough time to eat them and thus go hungry. Frustrated as she was, there simply wasn't enough time to satisfy her hunger and so she just continued to wait there impatiently, grumbling every now and then.

It didn't take too long for Shinji to finish up and sure enough the door to the male restroom opened with the boy walking out.

"Sorry for taking so long Asuka but the blood had dried a bit, making it take a little effort to wash out" he explained. "Can you still see it?" he asked.

The young girl moved over to the boy to check out his shirt and determined that there wasn't anything noticeable anymore. "Yeah it's fine now" she answered.

"Well I guess we should get back to class then, the bell is about to ring" Shinji replied.

"Yeah and thanks to that we didn't get to eat our lunches" Asuka complained whilst glaring at Shinji, making sure he knew it was his fault.

"We can always eat them at home, besides I satisfied a far more important 'hunger'," he joked.

"You're always so full of it!" Asuka spat, before turning around, throwing her hands up in the air and walking away.

The young boy followed after his girlfriend and they made their way back to their classroom. Unfortunately for Asuka, a small crack on the floor coupled with the awkward way she was walking caused her to trip and lose her balance, falling backward. Instinctively, she grabbed onto the closest object nearby, which happened to be Shinji, and pulled both of them to the floor. The redhead landed on her ass, while Shinji fell on top of the girl, having been pulled by his arm, and banged his head against hers, the sharp pain from the collision felt by both of them. To prevent himself from crushing the girl, the male eva pilot had braced himself with his hands on either side of the girl, though one hand now clutched his head in pain. The two opened their eyes after a few seconds and realised how close they were; their faces were only inches apart.

"Just what are you two doing? It's almost class time" a voice called out to the two.

The two eva pilots turned their heads to see Hikari and they both blushed when they realised their position; Asuka had her legs sprawled on the floor, with Shinji on top of her, his hand bracing himself on the floor and their faces so close it might have looked like they were about to kiss. Though the redhead was thankful that she had pulled Shinji down with her, otherwise her bare nether region would have been exposed.

"Oh hey Hikari, I just accidentally tripped is all" Asuka replied, shoving Shinji off her and quickly standing up, making sure she could not see underneath her skirt.

Unfortunately, Shinji had stood up and held his hand out to help her up at the same time and as she quickly stood up, the young boy momentarily made contact with the redhead's chest. Asuka, however, only pushed his hand away in response. Hikari didn't fail to notice the lack of a reaction on the redhead's part.

"So what were you two doing during lunch together?" Hikari asked, looking at the two suspiciously.

"What are you implying Hikari? We just bumped into each other while on our way back to class, I have no idea what this baka was doing during lunch" Asuka answered.

"S-she's right" Shinji agreed nervously.

"I see, I guess that makes sense" the ponytailed girl replied. Hikari then looked over at the young boy who was timidly staring down at his feet. "Though considering how I found you two, I am glad to see that Shinji over here is still alive" Hikari teased.

"Well it was an accident, I mean…I wouldn't kill him for my mistake. This baka wasn't trying to touch my breast- I mean um…it's no big deal" the redhead replied awkwardly; she didn't know why she was stumbling over her words so much.

The class rep giggled at her friend's response, before urging the two eva pilots over. "Come on enough standing around already, we need to get to class" Hikari ordered.

Sure enough, the bell rang as soon as the brown haired girl had finished her sentence. Both Shinji and Asuka followed the other girl back to their classroom and went to their seats. As soon as the redhead sat down on her seat, she instantly jumped back up.

"Aiiiee!" she called out.

The sudden cry caught everyone's attention and the entire class looked at the girl questioningly. Asuka cursed herself for her own stupidity and quickly thought of an excuse.

"There was a…thumbtack on my seat" she lied, giving everyone a glare.

Soon they all turned away from the redhead and Asuka made sure to slowly sit down this time; she wasn't wearing any underwear and plopping down on her cold seat had been quite unpleasant.

'Damn that baka Shinji, I have to sit down on this stupid seat with nothing on' she thought angrily. Despite all the torment she had received from the boy, her body would still get excited when she thought about what he would do next. Surmising that he still hadn't done what he had planned ever since the bet, the redhead was also a little apprehensive about what was going to happen. 'I just hope it's not too degrading this time'

Asuka's deliberations were soon interrupted by the teacher walking into the classroom and Hikari did her routine "Rise! Bow! Sit!" before the class began. The teacher then commenced his lecture on…the Second Impact again. This time, however, the teacher turned around to write on the blackboard while he was talking.

'I'm beginning to suspect that Nerv is paying this old geezer to keep talking about this rubbish' the redhead thought irritated.

Added to the boredom of the teacher's harangue, the frustration of sitting down without any underwear, especially when she was still hot from the activities during lunch, was driving Asuka crazy. It seemed the conditions had awakened a strong desire and she wanted nothing more than for Shinji to pull her out of this dull class and make love to her endlessly. Her conflicting thoughts were soon distracted when a message came up on her laptop.

_Was that jump at the beginning of the class really because of a thumbtack?_

_Shinji_

The redhead looked at the object of her distress with a glare before typing a reply.

_You should know, considering that YOU were the one who told me not to wear any panties. Do you know how uncomfortable it is sitting on this freezing cold seat?_

_Sorry about that, the thought never crossed my mind. Want me to warm you up ;)?_

_You know, right now I wouldn't mind._

Asuka shifted uncomfortably in her chair before typing her next message.

_God damn it, one look under my__ desk and it's any boy's dream._

_Just pray no boy is perverted enough today to try to look at your panties__._

_Good luck._

_You discredit your ability to cast fear on every male in this room._

_You're such a prick._

_:P._

The redhead shifted again before looking over at her roommate. The girl's eyes widened as from behind she could see a small sliver of her panties sticking out of his pocket. She quickly began typing a message to send to him before anyone could notice, but alas the jock sitting next to the boy had already noticed. Asuka cursed as Touji reached over and pulled the object out revealing the pair of panties. Shinji, of course, had noticed something being pulled out of his pocket and turned to face Touji, instantly freezing. Many people had seen the jock procure the item from Shinji's pocket and were now looking at them both curiously.

"What the hell are you doing?" Shinji whispered to Touji, blushing deeply.

"Maybe I should be asking _you_ that" Touji answered.

'Shit' Asuka thought. The redhead racked her brain for a way to help the boy.

"Just give it back" Shinji quickly whispered.

"I think I deserve an explanation first, I mean it's still warm. Was someone else wearing it?" Touji replied.

The class was growing increasingly suspicious as more people noticed what was happening and looked to the male eva pilot expectantly. The redhead herself was just completely baffled as to how the teacher had not noticed anything yet and was still facing the blackboard; was he really that deaf? Taking a risk, Asuka quickly stood up and swiftly moved over to the two boys, grabbing the panties off Touji.

"Honestly you perverts, arguing over a pair of some poor girl's panties" the redhead said sounding disgusted.

Shinji and Touji just looked up at the girl speechless and Asuka returned their look with an evil smile. She then handed her panties back to Shinji.

"You be sure to return those, before you get into trouble" Asuka continued, sneering.

Shinji hastily stuffed them back into his pocket, blushing profusely. "Thanks Asuka" he replied weakly.

The redhead then returned to her seat and everything went back to normal as if nothing had happened. The teacher hadn't turned back around from the board till Asuka sat down, effectively missing the entire event that had passed by. Shinji could feel the eyes of everyone on him and he just held his head in his hands embarrassed; this would take a while to die down.

* * *

Eventually the school bell rang and Shinji sighed in relief; he wanted nothing more than for the other students to stop looking at him. As his classmates exited the room, many of the girls cast awkward glances at the boy. 'Great' he thought, 'now everyone thinks that I'm a panty thief'

The male eva pilot then stood up and exited the classroom himself, however any chance to be left alone was soon lost as his two friends came up to him, their faces looking eager to ask him questions.

"And to think I was beginning to get worried about the redhead controlling you. I just knew you were a real boy Shin-man" Touji exclaimed.

"Please don't start with this" Shinji implored.

"I'm sorry Shinji but, having panties in your pocket is just too incriminating" Kensuke replied.

"Damn right. So tell us how they got there" Touji demanded.

"It's really not important" Shinji said, trying to dissuade them.

"You're not getting out of this Shinji, we won't let you go until you tell us" Touji replied, holding the boy in place.

The male eva pilot quickly ran through his brain for possible excuses, but none really seemed believable. He honestly wanted to divulge the fact that it was due to a challenge between him and Asuka, but then they would know she wasn't wearing any panties. Shinji looked up at his two friends and saw them staring at him expectantly.

"I err…was doing the laundry at home and…well…" he said pausing, trying to think of what to say next.

"What, are you saying those are the demon's panties?" Touji said recoiling a bit.

"No they're Misato's!" Shinji blurted out before he could think about it.

Both his friend's eyes widened before the two grinned at him.

"Ah if that's all it is you need not say anymore. We both understand completely" Touji said still grinning stupidly.

Shinji was sure the jock had completely misunderstood everything.

"No I was just doing the laundry and-" Shinji started quickly.

"Relax Shinji, you don't need to defend yourself in front of us, it's totally fine" Touji interrupted.

At this point Shinji gave up; they weren't even listening to him anymore.

"We both love Misato, so we fully understand the reason" Kensuke added. "Although I'm kinda annoyed you're progressing with her and we aren't"

"Man you're so lucky!" Touji said smacking Shinji's back.

Shinji just stayed quiet, hoping they would just leave if he didn't respond. For once the male eva pilot agreed with Asuka about the fact that his friends were idiots.

"Can we borrow those panties from you?" Touji asked eagerly.

"No way" Shinji replied instantly.

"Ah such a spoilsport, but I expected nothing less from you" Touji replied somewhat disappointed.

"Come on Touji let's leave the boy alone, I think he's had enough embarrassment for the moment" Kensuke suggested.

"Yeah I suppose you're right" the jock agreed. "Well I guess we'll be taking our leave then now, have fun Shin-man"

"See ya Shinji" Kensuke said waving.

"By the way, steal us a pair too next time" Touji added before turning around and walking away with Kensuke down the corridor.

Shinji just continued to stare at the ground silently, hoping that his friends would somehow forget about this incident forever. On the other hand, something told him that his dear redheaded girlfriend wouldn't ever live this down. As if he could predict the future, sure enough a loud snort could soon be heard followed by a certain young girl rolling on the floor laughing with tears in her eyes.

"I assume you heard everything" Shinji said, sighing at Asuka's behaviour.

"Oh you bet" the redhead replied, standing up and wiping the tears from her eyes.

"I don't wanna hear it, so stop before you even start" Shinji said quickly.

"Aww, you ruin all my fun" Asuka said teasingly.

"As if you haven't had enough fun already" Shinji remarked.

"Oh definitely not" the redhead replied seductively.

The young boy looked at her for a second, wondering if she was serious. "Are you sure? We're still in school. It's also not a good time to use the old storeroom, what with the janitor cleaning now" Shinji explained.

"I have the best place in mind" Asuka started. "No one would ever check the female toilets and with all the students gone it'll be perfect" she suggested.

"Not a bad idea, I'm always up for some fun" Shinji replied smirking.

"Then what are you waiting for, let's go" the redhead said, before turning around and walking towards the female toilets.

The young boy followed Asuka to the ladies restroom and the two of them looked around before entering inside and dropping their bags on the floor.

"By the way I wanted to say thanks for saving my ass back there Asuka" Shinji told her.

"No problem, it was kinda my ass too anyways" the girl replied.

Shinji then grabbed his girlfriend and opened one of the cubicles before pushing her up against the cubicle wall and closing the door behind him.

"Oh you're going to fuck me next to a toilet, how charming" Asuka teased.

The male eva pilot reached down and stimulated her bare pussy with his hand in response. "It seems like your wet cunt doesn't care" the boy said smirking.

Asuka moaned at the contact. "Well that's because anything's better than sitting down on that fucking seat without underwear" Asuka replied.

This time Shinji inserted his fingers, causing Asuka to cry out in pleasure and open her legs to give him more access. "You should be more honest Asuka, just like your body is" he teased. "What is the real reason your pussy is wet?"

"Because you get me all excited, you creep" Asuka answered blushing.

"Why thank you" Shinji replied grinning.

The young boy then kissed the redhead on the lips and undid the ribbon around her collar, before unbuttoning her shirt. After her shirt was open, Shinji fondled her breasts, making sure to generously rub her erect nipples as well. Asuka could to nothing against his onslaught as she continuously moaned at his actions.

"God you are so sexy you know that?" Shinji asked while pulling down his pants.

"You say this as if it's not common knowledge" the redhead remarked, her eyes looking at him cheekily.

"Your modesty always amazes me" the brown haired boy commented, just as mischievously.

Asuka was growing a little impatient at his delaying. "Just shut up and stop procrastinating already, can't you just get on-! Ah God yeah!" Asuka started before being interrupted by Shinji's cock being shoved up her wet pussy.

The young boy grunted as he thrust in and out of her and the redhead wrapped her arms around him, keeping him close. Shinji kept his head in her chest, pleasantly stimulating her breasts with his mouth, while his hands were holding her ass, using it as leverage. Asuka could barely contain her cries and moans as the two made love.

Just as Shinji planted a kiss on his girlfriend's lips, the door to the toilets opened.

"Asuka, are you in here?" a female voice asked.

The male eva pilot immediately stopped thrusting into the girl, almost falling over. He then looked at the girl questioningly, to which she just shrugged her shoulders and shook her head in response. The two stayed silent and still, hoping the person would go away. However, they soon heard footsteps as the person walked over to their cubicle. Panicking, Asuka quickly applied the lock, thinking the person was going to open their door.

The person then halted. "Asuka is that you?" the voice asked, which the two now recognised as Hikari's.

Now that Hikari knew someone was inside, the redhead had to respond and she would then know it was her so she had no choice but to reveal that she was there.

"Yeah it's me, is something wrong Hikari?" Asuka asked trying her best to sound calm; her awkward position added with Shinji still inside her made it difficult to speak normally.

"I just wanted to talk to you about something but you rushed out of the classroom before I could get to you. I looked outside to see if you had left, but I couldn't find you so I went back inside to check if you came here" Hikari explained. "Are you finished yet?" she asked.

"Not yet, I still need…a few minutes" Asuka answered.

"Ah ok, I'll wait outside then" Hikari replied.

The two eva pilots listened quietly as they heard Hikari walking off, followed by the door closing and then silence. At the sound of the door closing, Shinji quickly turned to face the girl.

"What do we do?" he asked Asuka.

"Fuck I don't know, why are you asking me?!" Asuka whispered angrily.

"You're the girl here, I obviously can't leave the toilet with her outside" Shinji whispered back.

"God damn it, she just had to come at the worst possible time!" she cursed, before sighing. "Well I guess I have no other choice but to go outside and make her leave. What the hell does she even want?"

"You'll find out soon enough" Shinji replied, withdrawing from the girl and moving out of her way.

Asuka then buttoned up her shirt and retied her ribbon, before exiting the cubicle and checking herself in the mirror. The young boy watched as the girl fixed up her hair and straightened her skirt before moving over to the door. Shinji pulled his pants back up and grabbed his backpack before hiding himself back inside the cubicle as Asuka opened the door and exited the toilet; it was lucky Hikari hadn't noticed the bags before. Shinji pondered for a moment what Hikari wanted with Asuka, but was soon interrupted in only a few seconds as the door to the toilet opened again and in walked more than one person.

"Yeah I think it's better we discuss it in here, just in case someone accidentally eavesdrops on us" Hikari told Asuka.

"Yeah I suppose you're right" Asuka agreed, before closing the door.

The young boy kept silent and listened intently to the conversation.

"You know Asuka you look a bit…messy for some reason and you're sweating. Is it to do with why you rushed out of the classroom? Were you here all this time?" Hikari asked curiously.

"Oh I just needed to go to the bathroom real bad and yeah I was here for a while" Asuka answered vaguely.

"You smell a bit funny too. It's nothing serious right?" Hikari continued.

The redhead knew the ponytailed girl wouldn't drop it until she got some type of explanation and so she decided to lie.

"It was just a bad period Hikari" Asuka told her.

"Well why didn't you just say so? Honestly Asuka you are so uptight sometimes. Although I thought yours was due in a week" Hikari replied.

Shinji made sure to make a mental note of that.

"Well it came early, but enough about this already. What did you want to talk to me about?" Asuka said growing irritated.

"Sorry, I just wanted to talk to you about the incident during class" Hikari explained.

"What about it?" the redhead asked.

"Well it's just those panties Shinji had, I am almost certain are yours" Hikari answered. "I wanted to talk to you about it during class, but thought better of it"

"What makes you think they were mine?" Asuka questioned.

"Well first off, they look like your panties plus I saw some writing on the tag that didn't look Japanese" Hikari replied. "I could be wrong though"

'Wow Hikari is observant' Shinji thought.

"So Shinji had stolen my panties?" Asuka put forward.

"It would seem so" Hikari said, nodding her head.

"Damn that perverted baka, I'll smack him silly when I get home" Asuka said angrily.

"Well actually he might still be in school as I didn't see him leave either, why don't we go look for him?" Hikari asked.

The redhead internally groaned. "Just give me a few more minutes I want to…finish up here" she requested.

"Sure" Hikari agreed, walking out of the toilet to wait outside for her.

After Asuka was sure Hikari had exited the toilet she quickly moved over to Shinji's cubicle and knocked.

"I _really_ need you to finish me Shinji" the girl whispered desperately.

The young boy opened the door and grabbed her without hesitation. He immediately started where they left off, pulling his pants down and shoving himself in as deep and hard as he could as her vagina was still well lubricated. Shinji covered the girl's mouth with his, to prevent Hikari from hearing anything. Really needing to be quick, Shinji didn't bother with unbuttoning her shirt or anything else and just concentrated solely on getting the girl to orgasm. Already having been built up a bit, the redhead was already close to her climax. Asuka held the boy close as he fucked her, her whole body sweating and invigorated.

Shinji clearly felt it when the young girl went over the edge and acted accordingly. He kept her against the wall and thrust into her relentlessly, trying to achieve his own orgasm. The redhead was wriggling vigorously as she came, her arms holding him even tighter and he could feel her mouth moaning. Soon Shinji was having trouble keeping the girl still as it seemed she was struggling against him and then realised she was probably running out of air. He parted from her lips and she instantly gasped for air. At this moment the young boy finally came, spurting his hot semen up her pussy.

The redhead leaned against Shinji as her body calmed down and the boy began to stroke her hair softly. She then groaned and buried her face in the boy's chest.

"You alright?" Shinji asked.

"I have to go look for you with Hikari. Couldn't she just let it go?" Asuka complained.

Shinji just chuckled. "Well you best get fully cleaned up then, you look as if you lived through a tornado" he remarked.

Asuka pushed the boy off of her and straightened her skirt again. Shinji just pulled his pants back up while the redhead went over the sink to fix herself up. This time the girl fixed up her hair neatly, smoothed out her shirt and washed herself a bit.

"I'd better go…" Asuka said turning to face the boy when she was done.

"Nothing we can do about it" Shinji replied, shrugging his shoulders.

At this, the male eva pilot returned to his cubicle just in case while the redhead took her bag from the floor and placed it on her back before exiting the female restroom. The young boy waited inside the cubicle for a little while before he decided that the girls weren't coming back in. He then also placed his bag on his shoulders and exited the cubicle before moving over to the door and pressing up against it to hear if the girls were still there. Unable to hear anything, Shinji decided he would open the door. As he opened the door slowly, he prayed that they really were gone and that no females would try to enter the toilet as he left.

When the door was open enough that he could fit through, Shinji poked his head outside and saw no one in the corridor. He quickly slipped out of the restroom before anyone came and sighed in relief; he had passed the first obstacle, now to get out of the school without the other two girls finding him. Even though he really wanted to walk home with Asuka, it would require that he reveal himself to Hikari and some annoying questions to answer would follow. Thinking that they wouldn't look for him at the entrance to the school first, Shinji decided he would just go straight to the exit and get out of the school as soon as possible.

Unfortunately for the boy, both Asuka and Hikari were waiting for him at the exit of the school building; he had been caught. 'So much for that plan' he thought.

"See Asuka, I told you the best place to wait for him was at the exit" Hikari said proudly.

"Oh hey girls…is something wrong?" Shinji asked, trying to sound curious.

The ponytailed girl moved over to Shinji and reached into his pocket, pulling out Asuka's panties and studying them.

"Wait-!" Shinji started.

"I knew it, it _is_ yours Asuka" Hikari interrupted. "Here you go, these are yours" she said giving the redhead back her panties, which Asuka then pocketed.

"Explain yourself Ikari" Asuka demanded.

'What the hell do I say?' the boy thought. As no words came to his mouth, he just stayed silent.

"She's asking you why you have her underwear in your pocket" Hikari rephrased.

Shinji knew he had to respond with something, so he used the same excuse he used with his friends.

"Well I was doing the laundry at home and…I don't know…maybe I somehow left it in my pants, I was surprised to find it in my pocket as well" he answered.

"Why should I believe you?" Asuka asked.

'Don't make things harder Asuka' Shinji thought angrily.

"Why would I steal _your _panties? Even if I _wanted_ to steal them, I wouldn't even bring them to school, I could easily have made sure you wouldn't find out" he replied.

"That's a good point. I guess I need to check your room when we get home. You're still getting slapped though" Asuka said smirking.

Even with the warning and the subsequent bracing of himself, the slap still hurt like hell; a huge red hand-shaped welt on the boy's cheek was proof enough. Shinji cursed himself for falling in love with this violent girl as he nursed his poor cheek.

"I better not catch you with my underwear again third child" the redhead said threateningly.

The male eva pilot just nodded pitifully in agreement.

"I think you hit him a little _too_ hard Asuka" Hikari said worriedly.

"Don't worry about this baka, besides he deserved it" Asuka refuted.

"We now know it was an accident and thinking about it now, the embarrassment he got in class was probably more than enough of a punishment" Hikari replied.

"Whose side are you on? Your best friend's or a panty thief's?" Asuka argued.

Hikari just giggled in response. "Sometimes you can behave so childishly Asuka. You should go make it up to Shinji when you get home, this all came from him doing your laundry after all" the class rep told her.

"I can't believe my _best friend_ is betraying me" Asuka huffed.

"Don't you feel sorry for Shinji at all?" Hikari inquired, grinning at her friend's behaviour.

"Now you're trying to make me feel guilty?" the redhead said disbelievingly.

"Don't be so difficult all the time or Shinji will leave you" Hikari joked.

"WHAT?!" Asuka shouted, while Shinji almost fell over.

The ponytailed girl laughed at the female eva pilot's reaction. "Relax Asuka, I was just kidding" she said in response to the look she was getting.

"You scared me there for a second Hikari" Asuka replied.

"But seriously Asuka, give the boy a break" Hikari requested.

"Oh fine already" Asuka said grudgingly.

"You're a good person Asuka" Hikari complimented.

"Yeah yeah whatever" the redhead replied.

"Well it's already quite a bit past the end of school so I better get going" Hikari announced. "I'll see you two later"

"Bye Hikari" both Shinji and Asuka replied, before the class rep rushed off out of the school.

"Damn you are so gonna get it for that Asuka" Shinji said in pain.

"Well it's your own stupid fault for taking my panties" Asuka countered.

"I still don't understand why you had to do it that hard" Shinji retorted.

"I had to act normal ok? It's not my fault" she snapped.

"Oh of course, you had to act _normal_. I had forgotten being a violent bitch was 'normal' for you" he replied.

"God you're nothing but a big baby" Asuka said irately before moving over to the boy and planting a kiss on his injured cheek. "There, a kiss to make it feel better ok?"

Any anger Shinji felt instantly disappeared and he couldn't help smiling at her actions. "Well I guess I was mistaken, you really are a good person" he replied, before kissing the girl on the lips.

The young boy slipped his tongue into the redhead's mouth as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. Asuka too gave into the passion of the moment and kissed the boy back just as avidly. As the redhead returned Shinji's embrace, they both closed their eyes, enjoying the kiss.

"Oi go on home already you kids!" a voice called out.

The two eva pilots jumped and immediately parted as they were startled. They looked to where the voice had come from and saw the school janitor. Both in shock, the two just stood there dumbly.

"It's way past the end of school and I need to clean the place, so get out of here" the janitor continued.

"Yes sorry, we'll be going now" Shinji replied, taking Asuka's hand and exiting the school building with her.

As there were still a few students outside, Shinji quickly released the redhead's hand and the two of them walked out the school gates together. Their silent stroll didn't last long as the redhead spoke up.

"Well how about that, getting caught by the school janitor while we were pashing" Asuka commented.

"Yeah that was definitely a mood killer, but better him than a teacher I suppose" Shinji replied. "You should be more worried about other things though"

"Like what?" Asuka asked.

"When we get home we're going to finish our business. After all, you're still mine for the rest of the day and now there'll be no interruptions" Shinji explained.

"Yeah…I can hardly wait" Asuka said sarcastically.

The two adolescents walked the rest of the way to their apartment in silence; after all the events of today, they could use a short break. Arriving at their apartment, they entered the building and took the elevator up to their floor. The two roommates then made their way to their room and entered their residence, closing and locking the door behind them.

"We're home!" Shinji called out as they both dumped their bags on the floor.

They received no answer in response.

"Misato isn't here?" Shinji said hopefully.

"Well she said she had the day off today, but knowing her, she would spend it sleeping" Asuka remarked. "I'll go check her room to be sure"

The redhead disappeared for a few seconds as she went and checked the Major's bedroom before returning to Shinji.

"I didn't even have to go into her room to know that she was asleep. Man that woman snores louder than a thunderstorm" Asuka told the boy.

The male eva pilot sniggered at her comment before replying. "Yeah I once thought a monster had entered the house when I walked past her door" he recalled.

"Yeah it's scary isn't it?" Asuka said laughing.

"Oh yeah" he agreed.

Their laughter was shortly interrupted by a certain redhead's stomach growling. The girl gave the boy a quick look before speaking up. "Well I know you're just _dying_ of anticipation for some 'fun,' but it seems like I'm really hungry, through no fault of my own I might add, so I'm going to eat my bento first" she declared.

"Very well, you have my permission to eat" Shinji teased. "I'll join in too"

The young girl just shook her head at him before opening her bag and taking out her uneaten lunch. Shinji did the same and the two eva pilots then moved over to the dining table before sitting down and eating their meals. It didn't take long for Asuka to finish her food, as it was just lunch, and so she stood up from the table, leaving the empty lunchbox on the table and moving off towards her room. Shinji wasn't too fussed about the redhead running away though, she couldn't escape him anyway. Asuka didn't get very far, however, as the sound of the phone ringing interrupted her trek. As the young girl was the closest to the phone, she went and picked up the receiver.

"Hello?" Asuka greeted the phone.

The voice on the other side instantly responded excitedly.

"Oh hi Hikari, what's up?" the redhead asked.

"Really, that school dance is actually tonight?" Asuka replied after hearing Hikari's answer.

The young girl then paused as she listened to Hikari talk, giving a few grunts now and then as affirmation.

"No way! You're going with Suzuhara to the school dance?!" Asuka exclaimed.

"Ah I knew it. You want me to come tonight as well. Do I really have to go?"

The redhead's face soon showed irritation as she listened to the phone.

"But I really don't wanna go, besides I don't have a partner"

This time, the young girl had a surprised look on her face.

"You want me to take Shinji? Are you serious?" she asked disbelievingly.

Hikari continued to explain her request.

"Wait a second…you're saying I should make it up to Shinji by taking him to the school dance?"

Asuka paused again as she listened to her friend's response.

"That's ridiculous! Why are you so adamant about getting me to go, don't you want to be alone with that stupid jock anyway?"

This time, the redhead held the phone away from her ear as her best friend frantically began making 'innocent' excuses as to why she was going to the dance with Touji.

"Oh alright fine! I will go to the stupid dance" Asuka replied, losing her patience.

The young girl rolled her eyes as she listened to Hikari giving her gratitude.

"Yeah yeah, I'll take him, but only because I don't have any other choice but Shinji at this short notice"

"Yeah ok, I'll see you there. Goodbye" she finished, before hanging up.

Asuka turned to face Shinji and sighed in irritation. The young boy just looked at her confused, waiting for her explanation as to why he had just been forced to go to the school dance with her without ever being asked.

"Hikari…" the redhead started, "is just so pathetic. She's too scared to be alone with that stupid idiot and wants me to come, I can't believe how retarded she is argh" she complained.

Shinji just looked at his roommate as if someone had just stolen his favourite toy. "But what about me having my fun tonight?" he asked.

"I promise we'll do it after" Asuka replied.

"But-" Shinji started.

"No buts, we're going" Asuka interrupted. "I need to take a shower and you should too. I think I'll put on my black dress, you should wear something formal too like a suit"

"But-" the young boy began.

"What did I just say?" the redhead interrupted again.

Shinji just sighed in resignation; there was no point in arguing with her. "So what time does it start?" he asked her.

"Very soon, so go get ready now" she answered.

With that, Asuka stood up and went straight to the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Not having a choice, the young boy went to his room and began to rummage through his wardrobe for suitable clothing. He found a plain white shirt, a black overcoat and some long black trousers; it kinda looked like a tux and it was all he had anyway. Placing the clothes on his bed, he then exited his room to check if Asuka had finished. The closed door suggested that the redhead had not finished yet and thus Shinji decided to wait for her to finish.

It wasn't long till the young girl walked out of the bathroom, covered in a towel. Smiling cheekily, Shinji moved over to her and pulled the towel off her.

"Hey!" Asuka shouted.

"What?" Shinji asked innocently.

"Give me my towel back" she demanded, attempting to retrieve the towel from the boy.

The young boy found it amusing to watch a bare naked Asuka struggle to grab the towel off him.

"Do you really need it? I've seen you a dozen times" he replied.

"I would advise you not to keep this argument going" the redhead warned.

Reluctantly, the male eva pilot returned the towel to girl who huffed and stormed off to her room. Now that the girl had finished her shower, Shinji entered the bathroom himself. He stripped off his clothes, got into the shower cubicle and turned the handles; nothing but cold water came out.

'She used all the hot water again' Shinji thought sighing.

Not wanting to have a cold shower, the young boy rushed his shower and got out as soon as he could. Having finished his shower, he dried himself with a towel before exiting the bathroom and returning to his bedroom. Entering his room, he then began to dress up into the clothes he had prepared. When he finished dressing up, Shinji checked himself in the mirror and fixed up his hair and anything else that needed his attention. Satisfied with himself, the young boy then went over to Asuka's room to check on her and knocked on her door.

"Yes?" Asuka responded through the door.

"You ready?" Shinji asked.

"No" she answered.

"Can I come in?" he requested.

"No, I'm not finished" she replied.

He momentarily considered opening her door, but soon thought it wise not to anger her.

"Ok I'll be waiting then" he told her.

Having nothing better to do, the male eva pilot went to the kitchen and took out a drink. He then moved to the dining room and sat down on the table, slowly sipping his cup. As the young boy waited patiently for his girlfriend to get ready, he thought about whether he would dance or not. Shinji wasn't particularly good at it, but he had learnt some from school and Kaji, who insisted dancing was essential to impressing girls. Dancing by himself wouldn't be too hard, but the prospect of dancing with Asuka made him a bit uneasy; he might have to let her lead. After about 20 minutes of pondering, he heard Asuka's door open; the redhead had finally emerged from her room.

Shinji stood up from the table as his roommate walked in. When the boy laid his eyes on the redhead he just stood there stunned. Asuka was wearing a low cut glittery black dress which fit tightly around the girl, showing off all her womanly curves. The redhead was also wearing sparkling silver earrings, long white gloves, sexy black stockings and high heels. To top it off, she was wearing eyeliner and luscious red lipstick. The male eva pilot had always known that Asuka was beautiful for a girl her age, even sexy, but the dress she was wearing right now accentuated her features and made her appear astounding. Shinji felt a burst of ego as he knew this girl was his.

"Well how is it?" the girl asked after the lack of response.

"You look absolutely gorgeous" Shinji blurted out.

The redhead blushed at his remark. "Thank you, you look pretty handsome yourself" she replied.

"Where the hell did you get a dress like that?" the boy asked curiously.

"I um…had it custom made for me back in Germany, I decided to bring it over as I would outgrow the dress sooner or later" she answered. "I thought I might as well use it now as I haven't really had any other chance"

The young boy was just speechless as he admired his girlfriend's beauty, unable to say anything to accurately compliment her. Shinji then realised he had been staring at her for quite a bit and not wanting to annoy the redhead, he moved next to the girl.

"S-so then…w-we going now?" he stammered.

"Yes let's" she replied.

Shinji moved his hand down her backside, feeling the lining of her underwear through the fabric of her dress. The redhead smacked his hand away, thinking he was trying to cop a feel.

"What happened to the punishment of not wearing panties?" Shinji asked.

"I am _not _going out in public with this dress without wearing underwear" she said with finality.

"I suppose you have a point. Well let's not waste anymore time then" he replied, taking the girl's hand.

The young boy led her to the front door and opened it for her to pass through first like any gentleman would. The two eva pilots then took the elevator down and out of the apartment building. As they began walking to the school, Shinji couldn't help but steal glances at the girl next to him; Asuka noticed of course.

"What do you want?" the redhead asked slightly annoyed and pleased at the same time; she really did like attention after all.

"Oh err…I was just um…" he stuttered.

"Great, I've reduced you to a pile of gibbering jelly" she remarked.

"It's just…I didn't think you could look so beautiful" the boy said more confidently.

"Come off it, I already told you I was the most beautiful girl in the whole world" she said arrogantly.

Shinji just smiled at her comment and the two continued the rest of the walk quietly. Arriving at the school only a few minutes later, they heard a large noise coming from the school hall and so headed in that direction. When the two teens reached the school hall, they found the entrance had a check-in of some sort. Walking up to the 'bouncer,' Shinji and Asuka told him they were together. The guard stole a glance at the redhead, astonished by her attractiveness. Growing annoyed, Asuka told the man to hurry up, causing him to promptly stamp them both on the wrist; the redhead had to remove her glove temporarily to do so.

Entering inside, their ears were instantly assaulted by loud music and people chatting. As they looked around searching for Touji and Hikari, they saw the massive dance floor in the centre filled with numerous people moving about somewhat rhythmically. Asuka soon spotted the two sitting over by the tables and motioned to Shinji to follow her to the others. As the two eva pilots walked over to their friends, Touji and Hikari stood up as they noticed them coming.

"Hey Hikari" Asuka called out to her.

"Wow you look great Asuka!" Hikari exclaimed.

"For once I'd have to agree" Touji remarked. "You lucky devil Shinji" he said smacking Shinji's back.

"_Extremely_ lucky" Asuka added. "But then so are you Suzuhara, why Hikari is willing to be your partner is beyond me"

"Asuka stop it" Hikari pleaded.

"Fine" the redhead conceded, rolling her eyes.

Wanting to break the slightly tense atmosphere, the male eva pilot spoke up. "Hikari you also look quite pretty tonight" he complimented.

"Thank you Shinji" Hikari replied blushing.

"Hitting on my partner already? Well I understand, once the redhead opens her mouth all her beauty is lost" Touji joked.

"Suzuhara, don't you start now!" Hikari quickly reprimanded him.

"You're lucky Hikari is my friend" was all Asuka said, glaring at the jock intensely.

"Why must you two always fight?" Hikari said annoyed. "We came here to have fun, so stop this nonsense already. Anyway are you going to dance Asuka?" she asked.

"Yeah, aren't you? The whole point of coming here is to dance, unless you wanna sit and talk all night" Asuka answered.

"Are you going to dance with Shinji?" Touji asked.

"Who else? He's my dancing partner" she replied.

"Since when does the redheaded demon allow a boy to dance with her?" Touji inquired.

"Quiet Suzuhara, don't make her change her mind" Hikari snapped.

"It's just dancing, it's not like it really means anything" Asuka retorted. "Besides dancing by myself all night would be kinda lame"

Touji remained quiet; she did have a point.

"And aren't you two going to dance as well anyway?" Asuka continued at his silence.

"I suppose so" Touji replied, looking at the ponytailed girl for approval.

"Sure, when Asuka goes" Hikari answered.

"Well I'd like some refreshments first before doing anything" the redhead commented.

"I'll go get some drinks" Shinji replied, taking Asuka's hint.

The male eva pilot took off his coat and placed it on his seat before walking off to get some refreshments for the group. As the boy moved off, the redhead turned her attention back to the other two.

"So you and Suzuhara, when did you two become a couple?" Asuka asked.

"What?!" they both replied.

"I said, when did you two become a couple?" Asuka repeated.

"We're just here as dancing partners and nothing else" Hikari answered.

"Oh I'm sure" Asuka said sarcastically.

"Well what about you and Shinji?" Touji countered.

"What about us?" Asuka questioned.

"Are you two a couple?" Touji asked.

"Of course not" Asuka answered.

"There you go, you two are also _just_ dancing partners" Touji argued.

"Shinji was the only guy I could get to come with me at such short notice, thanks to Hikari who begged me to come, so I didn't have a choice. You two on the other hand chose each other specifically" Asuka shot back.

Touji and Hikari found themselves unable to retort and just as Asuka was about to announce her victory, Shinji came back to the group with a tray of beverages.

"Here's your drinks everyone" Shinji announced as he returned.

Hikari and Touji quickly took their drinks and sat down at their table. The redhead took one of the two remaining glasses and looked at it distastefully.

"Cranberry punch? Are you kidding?" Asuka asked.

"Sorry, there wasn't much of a choice" Shinji replied.

"Don't apologise!" Asuka snapped. The redhead then looked at the other two and an evil smile formed on her face. "Well since I've lost all desire to have a drink, I think I'll go dance now. And as promised, you two will also come up to dance now"

"But we just got our drinks Asuka" Hikari objected.

"That's just too bad, it's rubbish anyway" Asuka refuted.

Touji and Hikari reluctantly stood up from the table after which the redhead took Shinji's hand and pulled him to the dance floor with the other two following them.

"You didn't even ask me if I wanted to dance" Shinji said slightly annoyed.

"Are you saying you _don't _want to dance with me?" Asuka replied, raising her eyebrows.

"I just wanted you to ask" Shinji answered.

"What are you, a girl? Stop complaining already, or is it that you can't dance?" Asuka questioned.

"I can dance fine" Shinji retorted, his pride stepping in.

The DJ was currently playing some fast-paced dance music and the two roommates began to dance together. They started off dancing individually, pulling a few moves as they tried to show off to the other. Hikari and Touji also began dancing, however snuck off the dance floor after a while and back to their table, far too embarrassed to continue. Shinji and Asuka, however, had completely forgotten about the other two as they were too focused on each other and they began to dance a little closer, trying their best to do some partner dancing to the disco music.

"Dancing like this sucks eh? We need something more like the tango to go on" Asuka declared, getting bored of their ridiculous dancing.

As if her wish was granted, some Spanish music came on and Asuka grinned at the boy. Shinji was now terrified to dance with her as he had no choice now but to lead because of his earlier comment.

"What are you waiting for Shinji?" Asuka asked holding out her hand.

"Nothing" he replied, taking her hand.

Thus the two eva pilots began their serious dancing. Shinji started off simple, just doing a few steps and occasionally twirling her. He then held her around the waist as he curled her next to him before unravelling her outwards. Growing more confident, the male eva pilot then began swinging her around a little, the redhead laughing all the while; she was definitely having fun. Shinji then began to dip her and it was now that the two became completely oblivious to their environment. The couple began to pull off a few daring moves and soon a little crowd had formed, watching them dance. It slowly grew larger until Shinji and Asuka were the only ones dancing. At this point the two eva pilots were dancing really close and the song was almost over. Finishing up, Shinji twirled the redhead all around him before doing a final dip.

As the rush was over, the two roommates recomposed themselves before suddenly realising everyone was watching them and they both blushed as they became self-conscious.

"What are you all looking at?!" Asuka shouted, glaring at everyone.

Everyone quickly resumed their previous activities while the two eva pilots walked off the dance floor completely beat and the dance floor was soon full of people dancing again. Shinji and Asuka came back to their friends before plopping down onto their seats.

"I didn't see you guys on the dance floor when we were done. How long did you even dance for you slackers?" Asuka asked.

"We danced for…a bit" Hikari answered. "But what does it matter as long as we danced"

"Well sure, you came to a school dance to dance only for _a bit_" Asuka remarked.

"But you two were dancing so well we couldn't compete" Hikari replied.

"Yeah, I can't believe you were calling _us_ a couple when you two were definitely hitting it off" Touji commented.

"We were just dancing" both Shinji and Asuka refuted.

"Well to me, and probably everyone else, it looked like you two were a couple with those moves you were pulling. You guys were so close to each other I thought you two were grinding" Touji retorted.

"Ridiculous, as if I would ever do that with Shinji. You're just upset than Shinji could dance and you couldn't" Asuka snapped, growing tired of his accusations.

"That wasn't dancing, that was seduction" Touji said teasingly.

"That's it, I've had enough! I come here at Hikari's request, she even asked me to bring Shinji along as I can't get in without a guy, and I wanted to at least have some fun. But no, I can't just dance in peace can I?" Asuka blew up.

"Wait Asuka, Touji didn't mean that-" Hikari started.

"I'm leaving!" the redhead announced, storming off.

There was a moment of silence as the temperamental girl disappeared into the crowd of people.

"Good work Touji" Shinji said irritated.

"I'm sorry Shin-man. I really was joking, I didn't think she'd go off" Touji replied.

The male eva pilot just sighed; he couldn't really be angry at his friend, Asuka had overreacted a bit.

"Well she should cool off soon enough, besides at least I got to dance with her, I was lucky she even came with me" Shinji remarked.

"Not just that, her dress must have showed off some of her skin and you had front row seats too" Touji said teasingly.

"Touji!" Shinji replied, blushing.

"So how was it?" Touji asked, grinning at Shinji.

"Knock it off Suzuhara, you were only just apologising for making Asuka go off" Hikari snapped, annoyed at his dirty talk.

"But-" Touji started.

"No, a true gentleman keeps his head clear. I think you should go apologise to Asuka not Shinji" Hikari interrupted.

"I can't go to Sohryu, she'll kill me" Touji replied.

"It's unlikely she'll come back by herself, you need to go get her" Hikari said resolutely.

"Look, I'll go find Asuka" Shinji offered, "I am her dance partner after all"

"Thanks man" Touji replied gratefully. "Good luck" he added.

"Now that's a true gentleman" Hikari complimented Shinji.

With that the male eva pilot walked off in search of the redhead. He pushed his way through the crowds of people but was unable to locate her within the school hall. Inferring that Asuka had left the school hall, Shinji then exited the place himself and searched the school grounds hoping that she hadn't gone too far. Fortunately the young boy found Asuka sulking on a bench.

"Thank goodness, I finally found you Asuka" Shinji called to her.

The redhead turned her head away from him and ignored him. Shinji just continued to walk over to her, wondering how angry she was. When he was standing in front of her, he looked down at the girl.

"Are you okay Asuka?" he asked softly.

The young girl continued to stay quiet and made no response. Shinji took her chin and gently turned her to face him only to have her turn away again. A little irritated, Shinji then forcefully turned her face towards him and held it in place.

"Stop behaving like this, it wasn't that big of a deal. If something else is bothering you, just tell me" Shinji said firmly.

"You know what's bothering me? Everything!" she replied.

"Would you mind elaborating a little" Shinji responded, releasing his grip on her chin.

"I know I don't normally care about what others say, but it's just been getting on my nerves recently. I have to go act like a bitch or I can't do anything with you outside of our apartment, yet it also means I can't have fun with you, it's so frustrating. I had no choice but to storm off angry" Asuka explained.

"Why didn't we just tell them the truth then?" Shinji replied.

"Because they would rub it in my face and I would have to take back everything I've said, it's just too much to deal with" she answered.

"I don't think it'd be that bad" Shinji reassured.

"Yes it would, I'm pretty much just a pretty girl with no real friends" she replied.

"Come on Asuka, Hikari is definitely your friend and even _Touji_ was sorry he made you leave. He was only joking, as usual, so come back Asuka" Shinji implored.

"But I'm deceiving them, living a lie is hard and what happens if they find out the truth?" she refuted.

"I'm sure they'd understand why we were hiding this Asuka. Are you just ashamed of being with me?" Shinji asked.

"No, I'm just ashamed of myself for being so weak" she answered, her voice cracking a little.

"Asuka it's ok to be weak sometimes, you even said that you didn't want to be strong anymore" he replied. "And honestly Asuka, given your position, I think you need a rest from being so almighty all the time"

"It's how I've lived my whole life, I just can't…" she said trailing off.

"Asuka, it's only me here, just let it out" Shinji entreated.

"Just stop it, who wants to love someone weak!" Asuka refuted.

"I love you even more when you are at your weakest Asuka, just stop holding back" Shinji continued.

"No…shut up…I-I…" she choked, before her eyes began to water.

The young boy embraced the girl tenderly as she desperately fought against her tears, her face buried in his shoulder. He just stayed silent, rubbing her back soothingly. Fortunately Asuka calmed down shortly, preventing any messing up of her makeup. The young girl then quickly moved off Shinji, embarrassed at her display.

"You feel better now?" Shinji asked, seeing that she was feeling better.

"Yeah I guess" she said sniffing a little.

The male eva pilot leaned down towards the redhead and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

"God damn you're turning me soft" Asuka said annoyed when they parted. "I would never complain about something so trivial before _and_ you almost made me cry" she added, wiping the water out of her eyes.

Shinji chuckled in response and the two just sat there for a while.

"Well we should get back to the hall soon before they wonder where we are, we don't want any rumours to start now do we?" he replied.

"Good point" Asuka agreed.

The two eva pilots returned to school hall together, showing the guard the stamp on their wrists before entering. The two roommates then walked back over to where Touji and Hikari were. The ponytailed girl first noticed the redhead was back and went up to her and hugged her. Touji came up to them next and scratched his head anxiously.

"Yo Sohryu, sorry about before, it was just a joke" Touji apologised.

"What are you, Shinji?" Asuka remarked, smirking.

"Hey!" Shinji said offended.

"Nah, I just didn't mean to make ya go off angry" Touji replied.

"Well whatever, it's not every day you show some remorse for your imbecility, so I'll accept your apology" Asuka said holding out her hand. "But just this once"

"You can't just humbly accept an apology can you Asuka?" Hikari said sighing.

"Relax Hikari, she's just teasing me back" Touji said taking the redhead's hand and shaking it.

"Guess you do have some intelligent moments after all" Asuka remarked.

"Well now that everything's settled, let's get back to enjoying ourselves" Shinji suggested.

The ponytailed girl looked at her watch and then frowned. "Unfortunately it's quite late and my parents were adamant about me coming home so I must go" she replied.

"Then I have to go as well" Touji started, "besides I can't just let a girl walk alone at this time of night" he finished.

"I'll take you up on your offer" Hikari replied smiling.

The class rep then turned to face the redhead.

"I guess it's goodbye then Asuka and Shinji, I had a good time, thanks for coming" Hikari thanked.

"We really didn't get to talk much but I guess it can't be helped" Asuka said disappointed. "I guess me and Shinji will leave now as well, at least I got to dance"

"A good dance it was too. We'll see you two tomorrow" Hikari replied.

"You too" Asuka said in response.

"Goodbye" Shinji added.

"Goodbye" Touji said waving, before walking off with the ponytailed girl.

The two eva pilots soon followed suit and exited the school hall before making their way to their apartment.

"Well that was a nice evening" Asuka said yawning.

"Yeah it was fun" Shinji replied. "Are you tired though?"

"Not really, no" Asuka answered.

"Good" he said happily.

"Don't tell me you're still going to-?" she started.

"It's not the end of the day yet and you did promise" he interrupted.

"Quite…" she said trailing off.

They walked the rest of the way without saying another word; they had said enough for the day. Upon arriving at the apartment building, they took the elevator up to their floor and went to their door. After entering their residence they locked their door, before checking Misato's bedroom to see if she was still sleeping; fortunately for them she was.

Moving back to the living room, the young boy then wrapped his arms around Asuka's waist and held her tenderly. As Shinji embraced the girl, he gently kissed her neck and shoulders while moving one hand up to her chest. The male eva pilot fondled her breast and the redhead let out a moan. Removing her gloves, the young girl threw them behind her onto the couch. Taking the hint, Shinji then began to pull off Asuka's dress as she held her arms up to make it easier for him before placing it behind him on the couch. Removing the dress left the redhead standing there clad only in her underwear and stockings. The young boy then unclasped her bra, dropping it to the floor, while she took off earrings and threw them behind her. Asuka gasped as she felt his cold hands grasp her breasts, making her nipples erect.

"Cold!" she exclaimed.

"Well, we were outside at night for a while" he replied.

Shinji then softly pinched the girl's nipples eliciting a tiny squeak from her. Moving one hand down teasingly towards her lower regions, he made sure to tickle her belly button on the way down causing the redhead grunt disapprovingly. When Shinji reached Asuka's panties, he noticed her stockings, held up by garters, were blocking the removal of her underwear. The young boy then pulled down her garters and stockings before slipping her panties off, leaving her completely naked. Having liked how sexy she had looked with the stockings on, he made the redhead lift her legs again and pulled the garters back up with the stockings now that her panties were off.

"You're leaving them on?" Asuka questioned.

"Yeah, I like how they look on you" he replied.

Putting his arms around her waist again, Shinji held her tightly while the girl tensed slightly. The male eva pilot found her anxiety puzzling and reached down and tenderly stroked her pussy.

"Why are you so nervous?" he asked her.

"It's finally time. I don't know what to expect from you" she answered.

At this, the young boy smiled slightly, amused that she was still expecting some perverted fantasy to be fulfilled with her. He then picked the redhead up and carried her over to his room before opening the door with his foot. Laying her down on his bed he then promptly removed all his clothes. Taking in the sight of Asuka, Shinji grew fully erect; she was stark naked save for the stockings with the black-laced garters on top. Moving on top of the girl, Shinji looked down into her face as he loved to watch the girl's facial expressions as he had his way with her.

'One of these days, I'll probably become your slave anyway' Shinji thought dryly.

The male eva pilot then moved his mouth down to nuzzle her neck while fingering her pussy causing the redhead to gasp again.

"Your fingers are cold" she remarked.

"Let's warm them up then" he replied, pushing his fingers in deeper, making Asuka moan louder.

"I don't get it Shinji" Asuka started hesitantly. "What are we going to do?" she asked, unable to contain the burning question any longer.

"We are just going to make love Asuka" he answered.

"That's it?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yep, I prefer to just have normal sex on a bed, all that slave stuff was just for fun and to keep you in obedience, you definitely made my day enjoyable" he explained.

"Honest to God Shinji, you really are a manipulative bastard" she said glaring at him, annoyed at how he had fooled her.

The young boy just chuckled at her response before positioning his member at her entrance and pushing slowly into her wet pussy, watching her intently. The redhead moaned erotically at the penetration and arched her back slightly. Shinji then fondled her breasts gently, just enjoying the moment. The male eva pilot could not take his eyes off Asuka as she looked up at him with longing; she was just so beautiful. However, the young boy could see the girl was growing restless and surmised that she could not stand his current slow pace. Smirking a little, he then leant down and kissed her ardently.

"You love it rough don't you?" he asked her.

Irritated at his games, Asuka pushed him back onto the bed and moved on top of him. She vivaciously forced her lips onto his and began tracing circles on his chest.

"Damn straight I like it rough" she replied after parting.

Hearing this, Shinji pushed the girl back onto the bed before shoving his cock deep into her vagina. The redhead cried out in a mixture of pleasure and pain as the young boy began to speed up his thrusts. This time he roughly squeezed her breasts and pinched her nipples as he pumped into her. Asuka wrapped her legs around the boy, moaning and crying out with each penetration, her expression showing how lost in the passion she was. Shinji was exhausted from all the sex they had already had today and soon came, unable to keep up any longer. Asuka too, was also exhausted and managed to orgasm at the exact same time and the two held onto each other as they climaxed together. The young boy then moved off of the redhead and sat down on the edge of the bed, puffing a little.

"Well that's the end of your slave day" Shinji said matter-of-factly without turning his head to face her.

"Thank God" Asuka replied relieved.

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it" the boy teased.

"As if" she refuted, a small smirk on her face.

"Unfortunate, but at least one of us did and you certainly kept up your end of the bet splendidly. As a reward I'll carry you to your room my princess" Shinji replied.

"Maybe any other girl would find you charming, but I just think you're annoying. Shut up with that corny crap and just take me to my bed" the girl snapped.

"As you wish" Shinji replied.

The young boy then picked up the tired girl and carried her over to her room, before laying her down on her bed.

"Take off my stockings too please" the girl said yawning.

The male eva pilot pulled off Asuka's black stockings and just threw them onto the floor. The redhead then got under her covers and stretched her arms.

"Goodnight Asuka, sweet dreams" Shinji told her.

"You too, now let me get some sleep" she replied.

With that, Shinji exited her room and went back to his. Lying down on his bed, the young boy got under his covers and thought about the day. Fortunately it seemed Asuka had totally forgotten about her momentary depression yesterday, this whole thing had started because of it and he had gone against Misato's wishes too, but he believed it was worth it. The guilt he had felt since yesterday had disappeared when he saw Asuka's content smile as she went to sleep. It was now that Shinji was finally able to close his eyes and follow her into slumber.

* * *

End Notes: I know the previous chapter was a bit much (that sex scene was long wasn't it?) and so I toned down the sexual behaviour this chapter. Anyways I hoped you liked this chapter and look forward to what troubles this couple in the next chapter.

Extra Notes: Unbelievably this chapter is now my longest at an amazing 19000 words. I thought this chapter wouldn't take long to rewrite but I was soon proven wrong. This chapter had many events, so adding more description and making sure it was in character added a lot more words (a good 12000). Now only chapters 8 and 9 are left as major rewrites, soon you'll have the final version of my story ^^.


	8. Sport's Day

Author's Notes: here's the 8th chapter, much less sex and more romance too. Also the play is continued in this chapter. Many incidents happen in this chapter just read and see how everything turns out.

**NOTE: SORRY TO ALL NEW READERS FOR THE SUDDEN CHANGE IN WRITING QUALITY, CHAPTERS 8 AND ONWARDS HAVE NOT YET BEEN REWRITTEN. THE WRITING QUALITY WILL PROGRESSIVELY GET BETTER WITH CHAPTERS 10 AND ONWARDS HAVING SIMILAR QUALITY TO THE PREVIOUS SEVEN CHAPTERS**

* * *

Chapter 8: Sport's Day

Shinji awoke late, he had been thinking about the past few weeks. They had gone by without incident and Asuka was really beginning to warm up to him.

"Get up you lazy baka, we have school today and you still haven't made our lunches" Asuka said storming into the room.

'Maybe I'm wrong' he thought sweat dropping.

"God damn, why didn't you wake me earlier?" he asked.

"Its not my job to wake you up, now get dressed before I dress you myself"

He got up took out some underwear and his school uniform from his wardrobe and dressed himself. He walked up to Asuka, put his arms around her waist and kissed her before moving to the kitchen to begin preparing their lunches.

"Misato not here?" he asked.

"Nope" she said shaking her head.

He finished making the lunches, and Asuka went over to him.

"Its sports day today, remember to pack your sports clothes" she stated.

"Thanks for reminding me"

"Yeah you look tired"

He walked back to his room and made sure to pack everything he needed into his bag. He returned back to the kitchen where Asuka was waiting.

"Let's go then"

They got out of the apartment and began walking to school.

"You got lovely hair, did I ever tell you that?" said Shinji.

"I don't think so, but thanks I washed it this morning"

He kept looking at her. She couldn't help smiling.

"Why are you looking at me? Have I got something on my face?" she asked.

"Yeah"

"What?"

"Your beautiful smile"

She blushed, it was not often that Shinji was sweet and charming but she cherished those few moments.

"You stop that you're making me blush"

"Alright fine. Hmmm I just thought of something"

"Yeah?"

"You play the violin right?"

"Yeah"

"Well perhaps we can play a duet with me on my cello and you on your violin"

"That'd be great, maybe you can teach me how to play the cello even"

"It wouldn't be too hard I guess"

They arrived at school and walked to class. The teacher came in just a moment later.

"Rise! Bow! Sit!"

"Alright class we are having sports first so move down to the school pool, we will be doing swimming today" said the teacher.

The class piled out moving down to the pool. When they got there they sat down on the seats waiting for the teacher's instructions.

"Sorry class I forgot something, I'll go and get it while you wait here till I get back"

With that he left. Everyone got up and started talking to each other and playing around. One group of boys went around charging into people.

"Stop that you idiots!" shouted a few girls.

Then they charged into Shinji sending him reeling into the deep end of the pool. Asuka remembered he could not swim and quickly ran over. He feebly tried to stay afloat but was sinking fast and began to drown.

"Do something he's gonna drown you idiots!" she shouted.

"What do you care? Besides he's just faking it" they said.

"He can't swim!"

They didn't listen. She quickly ran it through her mind. Shinji was wearing his school uniform and would be far too heavy to lift out of the water unless…

"Dear God no" she whispered to herself.

She was running out of time and had no other options. In front of the whole class she stripped off all her clothes except her bra and panties and dived into the water. She went to the bottom pulling Shinji up towards the surface. She broke the surface and carried an unconscious Shinji towards the edge of the pool. 'Oh no' she thought 'not a good sign.'

"Pull him out!" she shouted.

The boys did so scared that he might not be faking. She got out and checked his breathing.

"Shit he ain't breathing." 'This just gets better' she thought to herself.

She checked his pulse it was still there. She began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in front of everyone. The whole class was shocked by the events and just stared in bewilderment, not one of them ever thinking to help. 'Come on Shinji don't leave me' she thought desperately. Finally after a few painstaking minutes he gagged and coughed out water, and began breathing deeply. She couldn't help hugging him.

"Thank goodness I thought you had died" Asuka said.

Shinji looked up at Asuka and noticed she was only wearing her bra and panties, which were soaked making them almost see-through. Her nipples were poking out due to the cold water. The sight almost caused a nosebleed. He looked around and noticed every boy had his eyes on her.

"Why are you wearing almost nothing Asuka?" Shinji questioned his brain not working properly yet. She blushed deeply suddenly becoming self-conscious.

"What the hell are you all staring at you perverts?" she shouted at everyone.

She attempted to cover herself with her hands. She could see every boy staring at her most of them had nosebleeds. She turned to face Shinji.

"I did it to save you, I wouldn't have been able to pick you up with that extra weight on" she explained to him. "Stop staring at me you perverts, I just saved his life and this is the respect I get?" Asuka shouted at everyone again.

She picked up her uniform and swimming gear and stormed off. Shinji got up.

"Sorry bout that man, didn't know you couldn't swim"

"Don't worry about me, what you did to Asuka was horrible"

"What are you talking about? She insults you everyday, she deserves it"

"No she doesn't, she just saved my life despite her personal dignity, I doubt you'd do anything like that" he said nastily.

They were speechless never had they heard Shinji defending Asuka of all people. He went off after her, while the whole class began discussing the incident.

"Could you believe she actually did mouth-to-mouth with him?"

"She stripped just to save the boy she belittles everyday"

"She's just a whore wanting to show off her body to everyone"

"Does this prove Asuka isn't really a bitch?"

"I can't believe every boy was looking at her, those perverts"

* * *

Shinji finally caught sight of Asuka. She was walking towards the female changing rooms.

"Hey thank you for doing that to save my life" he said gratefully.

She stopped, dropped what she was carrying and turned around to face him her face full of anger. Shinji looked at her unsteadily remnant of lack of oxygen to the brain.

"Don't treat it so casually, you could have died otherwise I wouldn't have pulled such a crazy stunt. And what do I get for it? A couple of boys gawking me."

"No really Asuka I appreciate what you did, I understand what it must have been like"

"No you don't, you-"

"Yes I do, you forget I was watching you being attacked by that last angel powerless to do anything, nothing tore me apart more"

"How can you be so calm? I almost lost you. I don't know what I would have done if I couldn't have saved you" she said hoarsely.

"Shhh its alright"

He pulled her to him kissing her softly. She wrapped her arms around him pulling him closer. Her erect nipples poked into his chest, her wet body rubbing against his.

'God why does everything she do have to be arousing?' he thought.

He pulled her bra off.

"Shinji, what are you-?"

He pushed her up against the wall. He looked around to see if anyone was watching, then began fondling her breasts and sucking her erect nipples. He bit them softly and tugged at them, Asuka all the while moaning. He pulled her damp panties down, revealing her moist pussy.

"Shinji are you crazy, out here in broad daylight?" she asked incredulously.

He ignored her and instead fingered her excited pussy. He pulled his pants down revealing his erect member.

"Everyone will hear" she said.

He picked her up and held her up by the legs. He looked up at her face and thrust inside her. He kept her against the wall, as he felt really exhausted for some reason, to keep her from falling. The constant thrusting made her exposed body rub against the coarse wall grazing her, but she didn't mind. All she could think about was the absolute pleasure she was feeling. Her cries of pleasure and ecstasy were growing loud. Shinji needed to make it quick in case someone walked by and increased his pace.

"Oh god, oh god, I'm gonna cum" she exclaimed.

He thrust as hard as he could making her scream. Shinji released his load and stopped, the both of them breathing heavily. Shinji hoped no one had heard her scream, but just in case he let her down. He almost collapsed from the exhaustion.

"Wow my brain is still not functioning properly, cmon let's get out of here"

Asuka picked up her stuff and they rushed off to the girl's changing room and entered. Asuka left her clothes in a cubicle and changed into her swimming gear.

"You should learn to swim Shinji"

"Yeah I probably should"

Suddenly a loud noise came from outside.

"Shit the girls are coming in to change, there's no way I can get you out without anyone noticing. I'll hide you here"

She pushed him to floor and dumped her clothes on him trying to cover him with a towel. There were a few gaps but no one could tell it was a person. The girls came rushing in talking about girly stuff and what not and began changing. Many girls came into Shinji's cubicle chatting to each other. He tried to tune them out but it was impossible. His face went red with all the talk about periods, sex for girls, the latest fashion, clothes, shopping and how useless men were. Finally they left Asuka waiting to be the last one out. She walked over to Shinji and pulled him out.

"Unbelievable what you girls talk about," he muttered.

She just laughed.

"Picking up hints for me were you?"

Shinji just rolled his eyes.

"Cmon you have to get out of here" she said.

They exited the changing room.

"I better go first, otherwise it'll be suspicious" said Shinji.

Shinji ran off back to class and picked up his swimming gear. He noticed everyone had their swimming costume on. He quickly entered the male changing rooms to change into his swimming gear. He went back out after finishing and noticed Asuka was already back. The teacher came around to talk to the class.

"Now Mr. Ikari I heard there was an incident while I was gone, do you mind explaining to me what happened?"

"Not at all, first off these boys knocked me into the deep end of the pool" he said pointing to a few guys "I can't swim and so began drowning. After that I don't know I blacked out"

"What happened next?" he asked the class.

"Asuka stripped and dived into the water and pulled him out, then did mouth-to-mouth until he started breathing again" someone answered.

"You stripped?" the teacher asked Asuka.

"He would've been too heavy to pull out with my uniform dragging me down as well" she replied.

"You boys have a detention for three weeks, you almost killed him" the teacher announced.

The boys looked at him in disbelief.

"And you Miss Souryu, thank you for your quick thinking you saved this young man's life at the risk of your own personal embarrassment"

She nodded.

"Mr. Ikari I'll understand if you wish to skip this swimming lesson"

"Thank you sir I think I will stay out of the water this lesson"

"Perfectly understandable, and you Miss Souryu I'll be sure to get you a reward, I'll speak with the principle"

"Thank you" she said.

"Now lets begin this session"

He split the kids up in groups and began instructing each group. They rotated turns in the water while he showed them how to swim. Shinji sat back on the grass resting a little, taking particular interest in watching Asuka. He loved how she'd fling her hair back when she rose out of the water. She caught him watching her a few times and smiled back at him. When the lesson was over all the kids went back to their changing rooms and dried themselves before dressing back up into their school uniforms. No sooner had they finished then the school bell had rang. Everyone rushed to their lunch spots. Many boys came up to Asuka saying sorry for being perverts and congratulating her on her rescue. Just about every girl was upset, Asuka was getting the attention of every boy even ones with girlfriends. Every girl had seen the way they had stared at her. She spotted Shinji and the others and went over to them. Shinji now felt a lot better.

"That was really brave Asuka," said Hikari.

"Good job gave us a free peep show," said Toji.

"Toji!" said Hikari.

"I never thought you would have done something like that for Shinji" said Toji.

"While I may have my dislikes about the third child, I was the only one able to save him. I can't let my fellow pilot die" she replied.

"Yeah and flashing the whole class in the process" he said cheekily.

"Sometimes extreme measures must be taken, anyway shouldn't you be glad that he's alive?" she asked irately.

"We're all relieved," said Hikari.

"Though I must say you've got nice legs" said Toji.

SLAP! Toji turned his head back shocked to see Hikari had slapped him.

"Hikari?"

"Don't be so perverted," she said angrily.

"Sorry" he said feebly.

'Funny how women can always control us' Shinji thought.

"I for one am thankful for Asuka's actions so please guys be nice" Shinji said.

"Fine" they both answered.

"Asuka?" Hikari queried.

"What?"

Hikari moved up to Asuka and pulled her sleeve up.

"What's this graze on your arm?"

Asuka recalled the impromptu sex she had with Shinji, the wall had grazed her back and arms.

"Errr…"

"It looks recent, how did you do this?"

"I don't know," she said a little unconvincingly.

"Well it doesn't matter but you should put something on that" she said a little suspicious.

"I will"

"Moving on I heard we are practicing the play today, we've practiced the first part enough so we'll be doing the next part of the play. I think the costumes and props aren't too bad" said Kensuke.

"I haven't read the whole play yet I wonder how the story goes," said Asuka.

"I'm not sure either I guess we'll find out" said Hikari.

They sat down to eat their lunch. A boy came up to the group.

"You want what?" Asuka asked.

Out of nowhere he groped Asuka. In shock she didn't react fast enough and missed him as he moved away.

"What the hell?" asked Asuka angrily.

"You know what, that whole scene at the pool"

"What about it?"

"You slut you'd do anything to be popular, making Shinji pretend to drown and then do all that stuff and 'save' him"

She recognised him now he was one of the boys who got a detention.

"You have no idea what you're talking about, I suggest you leave before you make me real angry" she said warningly.

"You don't scare me you fucking whore, what did you do to convince him? Give a little suck?"

SLAM! The boy staggered back and noticed the punch had come from Shinji.

"What do you think gives you the right to go accusing her of that? I was actually drowning. Thank you so much for thinking I was faking my death. There's nothing I hate more than losers like-" SLAM!

The boy had just punched him back and Shinji was seriously pissed. He punched the boy hard in the face, the boy threw a few punches in defense but Shinji dodged them all. He then kicked him in the ribs knocking the wind out of him. He fell to the ground spluttering.

"I think we've cleared up this misunderstanding, I suggest you get on out of here before you get your ass whooped" said Shinji menacingly.

The boy didn't need a second warning and ran off. Shinji realised he probably shouldn't have gone so overboard but he did not like hearing someone talk about Asuka that way.

"Shinji I could have taken care of it" said Asuka.

"Yeah but I had to make sure he was convinced, after all he thought 'I' was pretending to be dead, I just 'clarified' his error"

"What a dickhead, he freaking groped me," said Asuka distastefully.

"Whoa Shin-man didn't know you could throw moves like that" said Toji.

"Eva training gives you some skill in hand-to-hand combat" answered Shinji.

The bell for the end of lunch rang and the students went to the stage room already knowing they were going to practice the play. When they arrived the teacher showed them to the changing rooms.

"Alright go change into your costumes so we can begin practicing" said the teacher.

The class changed into their respective clothes and they read over their lines before starting the play.

When her men arrived at the town, Princess Adelita Sankt met up with them.

"It is good to see you safe my lady," the captain said.

"Thank you captain, it is good to see you are also well. However I would like to discuss a new plan for our journey" she replied.

"Who is this man?" the captain questioned pointing at Sir Jonathan.

"This is Sir Jonathan he 'rescued' me"

"Aye so what's this new plan?"

"He suggested that I travel with him to the castle, he knows the terrain and a lone horseman would bring less attention. I have taken a liking to the idea as I cannot risk any more of my men's lives"

"My lady you are too kind, I will respect whatever your decision is but surely traveling alone with a man you hardly know is also risky?"

"He is a knight and as such must keep to his code of chivalry, nothing of that sort will happen"

"As you say my lady, if you trust him then I agree with this plan. We will return to our kingdom when we hear of your safe arrival at the castle"

"Thank you I shall rest here for a while before departing." She turned to face the knight "Sir Knight"

"Yes your Highness?"

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"Ah well no, but do not worry I will keep watch at night"

"There is no need, no one will attack this town, I will pay for a room for you at the inn we are staying at"

"But I cannot accept this"

"Would you rather stay outside?"

"No I thank you your Highness you are too kind"

"Good now that that is settled I'm going to go get myself clean that whole escapade got me filthy"

She walks off into the inn. The princess's guards walk into the inn and go to their respective rooms.

"What an interesting person that princess" said the knight to himself.

He walks into the inn and asks the innkeeper where his room is and the innkeeper gives him directions. The knight mishears and walks instead into the bathing room by accident. He walks in to find a stark naked (of course just a skin costume) princess who had stripped to enter the bath. She turned to look at him and instantly covered herself.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she shouted.

"I err…" the knight stumbled.

"Get out!" she shouted.

He didn't need no second telling and ran straight out. He finally stopped and mysteriously ended up outside his room.

"That was not a good first impression," he said to himself.

He entered his room and took off his armour and lay down on his bed. A few minutes later an angry princess came storming into his room.

"Mr. KNIGHT I hope you can explain your actions before I have you beheaded"

"I am very sorry your Highness but I misheard the innkeeper's directions to my room and ended up there. I did not mean to disturb you"

"Do you realise you could be dead right now?"

"I realise my Lady that's why I ask you humbly for your forgiveness"

She sighed.

"Make sure it does not happen again"

"Yes your Highness"

She walked out of the room and closed the door. The knight finally relaxed, being relieved of impending doom.

"She is a very understanding woman, if that had been any other princess I probably would not have lived to see the next day"

He went to sleep. The next day he awoke to the sound of someone knocking on his door. He opened the door.

"Sir Knight" said the princess.

"Yes your Highness?"

"Get ready, I wish to leave early I will say goodbye to my men while you are preparing"

"Yes your Highness"

He put on his armour and fixed himself up before walking out. He walked outside the inn where the princess was saying goodbye to her men.

"Do not worry my men I will arrive safely with the help of this knight"

"Yes my Lady we trust in your wisdom"

"Your Highness I am ready"

"Ah yes Sir Jonathan let us go"

They mounted his horse and rode off, while the princess waved to her men. When the village was out of sight she asked the knight a question.

"So how long for us to reach your king's castle?"

"It depends, at this rate about two days, but I can make the horse run faster and we could be there sooner"

"Go ahead ride faster"

"Yes your Highness but I advise you to hold on"

He urged the horse faster and it sped up, forcing the princess to hold the knight tightly around the waist for support. After a few hours of riding the princess called for a break and they stopped by a pond so the horse could drink some water.

"We make good progress, we are getting there faster than expected and we still have many hours of day left," said the knight.

"I'm hungry" was all the princess said.

He handed her some food and she ate it ravenously. He was shocked.

"Forgive me your Highness but are you not supposed to eat like a proper Lady?"

"Just between you and me I hate acting all proper, its pointless sometimes. Let me act normal for now"

"You may do as you wish your Highness"

"You may call me Adelita. 'Your Highness' is starting to sound a little dry"

"Yes your-I mean Adelita"

"So how is it you are a knight?"

"Ah well my family was brutally murdered and my farm burnt down. I was the only one who survived. A knight like myself found me and took me in. Ever since I always wanted to be a knight to find the group of people who killed my family and exact justice"

"I am so sorry for your loss"

"Do not worry my Lady I was too young to remember, I was told what happened when I was older"

"Do you have anybody? Or are you all alone?"

"I had a girl I was living with for a while, but I found out she was having affairs with another man and ended it. From then on I decided I would not have a woman scorn me again"

"Oh you think all are women bad?"

"Well no but…its difficult to open my heart again"

"I understand"

"Well we best get moving again," said the knight.

"Yes let's"

They mounted the horse and began riding again. This time they did not stop for a while. The skies were getting a little dark.

"This is great we are already more than halfway there"

"Let us rest then I can wait another day"

They prepared camp. The princess started making a fire.

"Is that wise Adelita? A fire would give away our position"

"We need a fire to stay warm, besides a fire keeps away wild animals"

"Bandits are to be feared more than any wild animal"

"The fire stays and so I command"

"Yes my Lady"

She finished the fire and they set down beds next to the fire to sleep on. The knight took his armour off and they went to sleep peacefully. The knight awoke to some strange sound. He looked around it was now very dark, the fire the only thing illuminating the area. He tried to go back to sleep. Then he heard it again, it was a twig snapping. Instantly he got out and picked up his sword.

"You are greatly outnumbered and you do not have your armour on, I would advise putting your weapon down and coming with us quietly"

"I will not allow you to take me," said Jonathan to the abyss.

"That really is an unwise choice," said the voice.

The knight looked around desperately for any sign of the man. He guessed he would have to use his hearing extensively. He heard a sound coming from behind and ducked just in time to dodge a swinging blow from a sword. The fight began and the knight found himself fighting five men. He fought hard parrying, swinging doing his best to defend the princess. He could not let what happened to his family happen to her. He got a strike and one man stumbled back mortally wounded. He knew one hit without his armour would kill him, but he had the advantage of higher maneuverability without it and so was able to dodge their attacks. He struck another man and he was out of the fight. But now the knight was weary and it was hard to keep fighting. Then his sword was knocked out of his hand and the man held his sword against his throat.

"You fight admirably, but now you will have to die"

The knight closed his eyes waiting for his death when all of a sudden he heard the man holding the sword shout in pain. Instantly he moved out of range of the sword and found his weapon and picked it up again. He fought the last two men wounding one while the other ran away. Then he looked to see the princess holding a dagger covered in blood.

"Guess you were right" said the princess.

"You saved my life?"

"Yes I woke up when I heard all the noise, then I realised you were fighting. I found my dagger and sneaked up behind the man and stabbed him just in time. You took care of the rest"

"I guess I was wrong about you my Lady you can handle yourself and I am deeply indebted to you"

"Do not worry about it, it was my fault they came in the first place, and you fought valiantly"

"Thank you for your kind praise Adelita"

"I think we best put out this fire before something else happens." With that she threw dirt over the fire extinguishing it.

"Princess the night will now be very cold without the fire"

"Yes I know we will have to share our warmth"

"Are you sure princess? You would lay down with a stranger?"

"You are no stranger to me"

The knight smiled in the pale moonlight.

"I'd like to ask you one question" asked the knight.

"You may"

"You said you were meeting with my king to marry him. Why is that?"

"Well my father and your king wish to use me as an alliance pact, though truthfully I did not agree to this. I do not care for power, I just wish to be with a man that I love"

"That is truly sad indeed, is there no other way?"

"I argued with my father but he would have none of it, no one cares what a woman has to say anyway"

"I do…"

She stayed silent and he put their beds together. She put her hand on his shoulder.

"Sir knight"

"Yes my Lady?"

"I er…well that is…"

They both paused. They just stayed like that.

"Asuka you're supposed to kiss the knight now" the teacher whispered.

"Do I have to?" she whispered back.

"Yes it's part of the play and you better practice it and get it over with so you can do it when we present the play"

She swallowed. She kissed Shinji softly at first but having kissed Shinji so many times her body took over and she kissed him deeply. Shinji replied by kissing her back. Just then the bell rang for the end of school. Asuka and Shinji instantly parted, blushing. A couple of wolf whistles went through the class.

"Shut up you hentais its just part of the play!" Asuka shouted.

Everyone got up and removed their costumes packing away the props they used.

"Alright class that was a very good practice we will continue next time, dismissed"

The class piled out with Hikari Toji and Kensuke following Asuka and Shinji.

"I can't believe you two kissed each other," said Hikari gleefully.

"Not you too Hikari" said Asuka disbelievingly.

"Well that was a pretty deep smooch for two people who hate each other" said Toji.

"Lay off, the teacher wanted it to look convincing" she retorted.

"So Shinji did you enjoy Asuka's deep liplock?" he said teasingly.

Shinji blushed looking away.

"It wasn't like that, it was…just a…play," he stammered.

"Whatever man you don't need to hide your feelings, you're a man" Toji said encouragingly.

"Pffft whatever" snorted Asuka.

"Cmon remember when you groped her ass? Don't deny your male instincts." Toji replied.

Kensuke laughed, Asuka blushed and Hikari looked questioningly at Toji.

"Oh Hikari that's right you weren't there. It was so funny, Shinji groped Asuka's ass in the middle of school and then he got beat up hard"

"Shinji?" questioned Hikari.

He was speechless.

"Asuka?"

"Let's stop talking about boy's perverted ways and put this situation behind us," Asuka said glaring at Toji.

They walked in silence until they exited the school.

"Well see you tomorrow" said Hikari walking off.

"Good luck with your new relationship" said Toji jokingly to Shinji.

"Suzuhara!" shouted Asuka.

Toji ran off and Kensuke followed suit. Shinji and Asuka began walking to their apartment.

"Wow what a day" said Shinji.

"Sometimes it seems like they already know about us" said Asuka.

"Nah Toji's just a joker, he doesn't seriously think something is happening between us"

"I didn't realise we had to kiss in that play, that sure brought a lot of unwanted attention"

"Its o.k as long as we use the excuse of it being a play no one will pay heed"

"I guess you're right"

"One more thing do you know what kind of a name Adelita Sankt is?"

"Funnily enough its German, Adelita means 'sweet' or 'noble.' While Sankt means 'saint', so together it means noble saint or something like that"

"My noble saint" he said sarcastically.

"Oh you" she said punching him in the shoulder.

They arrived at the apartment and went inside.

"We're home" they called out.

"Hey guys" Misato called back.

They came into the lounge room. Misato came walking in.

"I haven't really talked you two for a long time, you two still snuggling each other?"

"Yes we are still together if that's what you mean" said Asuka putting her arm around Shinji's shoulder.

"So what's new?" asked Shinji.

"Well don't ask me why now but the discovery of your relationship has become a hot topic recently, the commander actually wishes to see you two regarding that"

"What?" they both asked.

"Its true, a relationship between two pilots could be bad for Nerv and so Commander Ikari has ordered your presence"

"When do we go?"

"He wants to see you immediately, I'll drive you there now"

"But we just got home"

"Not my problem"

"Can we at least change out of our school uniforms?"

"Not important, we leave now"

With that Misato pushed them out the door and picked up her car keys. They got into her sports car and she drove like she always did. Shinji and Asuka held onto each other fearing for their lives. After Misato made a crazy turn almost crashing into six cars Shinji passed out. They finally arrived at Nerv and the two teens were thankful for the end of the ride. They passed their cards through to enter and began their descent into Nerv. They stepped out of the elevator and began their long dreary walk across the corridor leading to the commander's office. They stopped outside the door.

"Okay guys, the commander requested me not to be part of the audience, you're on your own from now," said Misato.

They both nodded in affirmative and entered the office. The room was dark and gloomy as always, one would wonder how the Commander saw anything. They looked to see Shinji's father behind the desk in his usual pose, impossible to see his facial expression because of his tinted glasses. They also noticed the Sub-Commander standing behind the Commander.

"You two both know why you are here so I'll cut straight to the point." He looked down at them with an icy chill. "Please explain your relationship, so I know if it will be detrimental to the goals of Nerv"

Asuka knew not to annoy the Commander and spoke up "Me and your son have a consensual relationship, we have engaged in the act of sexual intercourse and the like many times."

"Do you use protection? I cannot afford a pregnant pilot"

"Yes we are using protection"

"Normally I would disagree with any relationship of this sort between two pilots"

Both teens stayed silent.

"However this is a special case, this relationship seems to boost your sync ratio. As long as your relationship will not interrupt your work at Nerv and you continue to use protection I will have no quarrel with you. But if it comes into conflict with your work I will have you two separated immediately. Also do not disobey my orders again Shinji"

"Excuse me Commander, but I do not know what you are referring to" asked Shinji confused.

"The angel attack, I told you to stay in system freeze, yet you moved up the catapult to the surface"

"Sir, with all due respect Shinji was coming out to save the star pilot of Nerv. Nerv can't afford to lose a pilot at a time like this," said Asuka.

"And?"

"Well I'd say the end justifies the means sir," she said mockingly.

The commander just looked at her shocked, she had just used his life motto against him. The sub-commander behind him laughed. He recomposed himself.

"One further thing underage sex is illegal, make sure no one finds out, dismissed"

"Yes sir!" they both shouted.

They both left the room relieved.

"She's excellent, she outsmarted even the great Gendo, no wonder your son went for her," said the Sub-commander.

"She will not do so again" he replied.

"So Rokubungi why did you change the scenario?"

"It was unintentional, when I had his LCL drugged I thought he would go after Rei, thus completing a more stable instrumentality scenario. Instead he made the second child defeat the angel without her going into comatose. This changes everything considerably I do not think it is possible to follow the scenario anymore……," he sighed, "but at least my son is happy."

"How will this affect everything?"

"The next angels will still come, but Seele will attack after they have found out what happened. I have no choice now but to try and stop instrumentality."

"But how can you stop Seele?"

"Well I have in my possession everything they need for instrumentality to occur. Besides I'm sure my wife will show them not to mess with my son" he smiled softly.

"Very well. I wonder if your son has inherited some of your genes?"

"Why do you say that?"

"It seems like he can really give it to her"

He allowed a small smile to grace his usually cold features for a moment.

"I suppose he has"

* * *

Outside his office the two teens and Misato were talking.

"So he let you guys off? Wow that is sure strange of him"

"Yeah its cool" said Shinji.

"Oh I just remembered I have something for you guys" said Misato.

She pulled a photo out and handed it to them. It was of them together sleeping on the couch.

"What the hell?" Asuka asked.

"I came home one night and found you two sleeping on the couch together so I took a picture. My best guess is you had fallen asleep watching the T.V"

"Remember Asuka the time you woke up with me on the couch" said Shinji.

"Oh yeah, but where's the blanket?"

"What blanket?" he asked confused.

"I put a blanket over you two before I left" said Misato.

"I don't remember a blanket," said Shinji.

"That's because I got up first and I let it fall to the floor, I thought you had put it there" said Asuka.

"So Misato why did you think we had fallen asleep watching T.V and not suspected something else?"

"Something else? Well I didn't exactly fathom that you two had a relationship, besides the T.V was on and the remote was next to your hand. Now about this something else…"

"Ah well the truth is Asuka had passed out from 'exertion' and I was too exhausted to move anywhere and so I just lay down on the couch with her"

Asuka blushed at hearing this.

"Anyway thank you Misato," said Asuka with a red face trying to change the subject.

"Don't worry Asuka, nothing to be embarrassed about," said Misato laughing.

"Says you, you tramp" Asuka replied.

"Oh you! You're the same Asuka!"

"Oh? Jeez I didn't realise I had slept with over 50 men"

It was Misato's turn to blush.

"Okay lets go home, enough of this, I'll meet you guys at the car" said Misato.

With that she walked off in the direction of the elevator.

"She just can't handle the truth," said Asuka pompously.

"Oh and what about you, Miss I can't admit I love Shinji?"

"That's different…"

"How exactly?"

"I don't wanna talk about my past now…"

"It doesn't seem like you ever want to"

"Its not an easy thing to talk about"

"You think my past is?"

"You wouldn't understand-"

"How do you know?!" he shouted angrily.

"But…"

"But what? Do you think I don't have problems of my own, you can't just assume I wouldn't understand. What I do know is I won't understand you fully unless I know what happened to you"

"How can YOU just assume you know what I went through you jerk?!" she shouted.

"I know for a fact its not good to keep your emotions bottled up inside"

"Shut up, I'm not ready to tell you"

"You're just scared of what I might think of you after you tell me"

SLAP! He stood there motionless.

"Here we go again, pushing everyone away. Why can't you just share all your feelings with someone?"

"What about you? Running away from all your problems! The great Shinji always ran away"

"God damn it Asuka, I'm past running away. Here I am confronting you, yet I see that you have not changed"

She opened her mouth but could find no words so she ran away. Shinji swore. The pain stung him deeply. He kicked the wall.

"Should I have been so hard on her?" he said to himself.

He took off after her. He saw her entering the elevator and hitting the close door button. He increased his pace trying to catch up, but he did not get there in time, the doors closing a mere second before he slammed into the elevator doors. He took the other elevator and began his ascent to the car pool. When he arrived at the right level he went over to Misato's car and saw Asuka already inside, sitting in the front seat avoiding his gaze. He looked at Misato and she waved at him.

"There you are, get in Shinji"

He got into the back and buckled himself. She went up the car elevator and then exited Nerv. The drive was a long silent one, Misato was worried.

"Hey guys what's up? Why the eerie silence?"

Neither answered her. She stayed silent after that. 'Something is definitely wrong here' she thought to herself. She parked the car and they all got out, Misato noticed Asuka was avoiding Shinji. They walked into their apartment and Asuka immediately went to her room. Shinji just sighed. 'What could be wrong? There were fine before I left for the elevator…' Misato thought to herself. Shinji began making dinner to get his mind off the incident. He just hoped the redhead would cool down so he could talk to her calmly. When Shinji finished he prepared the table, Misato went and took a beer and gulped it down.

"Hey Shinji why don't you just make those waffles again? They might cheer her up" said Misato. Shinji blushed furiously.

"That won't be possible Misato, I err don't have the 'ingredients' to make them again"

"Oh don't be silly if we've run out, I'll give you money to buy some"

"You can't buy those ingredients!"

Misato clearly was not getting it. "What do you mean? What did you put in those waffles?"

"You weren't supposed to eat them alright" he said avoiding the question.

"Shinji answer me" she said firmly.

"Well, I um…"

"You what?"

"I put me and Asuka's sexual secretions in it" he blurted out.

Misato looked at him shocked, but realised it was true when she remembered the taste. Her face paled and she looked like she was going to be sick.

"That is so gross" she said.

"Well you weren't meant to have them and I didn't want to tell you for obvious reasons"

"Hey look just tell me next time if I shouldn't eat something ok? Just call Asuka in when you finish dinner"

Pretty soon he had finished making dinner.

"Asuka dinner's ready!" Shinji called.

A moment later they heard some shuffling and then her door opened and she came out. Shinji noticed she had changed clothes. She sat down at the table and began eating without even saying a word. Shinji and Misato followed suit sitting down and eating, no one felt like saying anything. Asuka finished, put her plate in the sink and walked straight back to her room.

"God damn her stubbornness and pride" Shinji muttered.

Misato heard this and went over to Shinji and gave him a big bear hug.

"Don't you worry about her, you know Asuka she's just stubborn"

"Don't I know it"

Misato kissed Shinji on the forehead.

"You know I love you both, don't do anything stupid"

"I won't"

"Good now go talk to her, you never know, that's all she might need"

"Alright"

He went back to his room and changed into something more decent than his uniform. With his new resolve he went over to her door.

"I'll go out and buy some stuff," said Misato walking out the door.

Shinji was left all alone. The silence was deafening. Shinji knocked on the door.

"Asuka?"

No response.

"I'm coming in"

He opened the door and entered her room. She was lying down on her bed as usual.

"Now I know what you're thinking, but its not gonna happen. I know you hate it so I'm not coming here to say sorry."

This lightened Asuka's mood a bit, it made her happy to hear that. She continued to stare at him blankly.

"But seriously Asuka stop being so stubborn, you know I won't judge you, what are you afraid of?"

No response.

"I can tell you my story, and perhaps it might be similar to what happened to you"

He could see she lifted her head up a bit to listen.

"Well back when I was very young, probably 3 or 4 my mother and father were working on project eva. My mother was used as the test subject for Unit-01, my eva. But something horrible happened in the experiment and she got absorbed, I watched my mother disappear right in front of my eyes. I never saw my mother again, I can't even remember her face. To make it worse my father abandoned me, discarded me as if I was trash. He left me with some professor who didn't really like me anyway. Then one day I get called by my father to come to Tokyo-3 only to realise he just wanted to use me to pilot Unit-01. In the end my father still saw me as another pawn. That's why I got so angry when you said I was like my father, because I would never do what he did. Anyway I didn't want to expose my heart to anyone, because I was afraid of getting hurt again. So every time I was faced with something too hard to deal with I just ran away from it. But now I realise being all alone you sacrifice your happiness"

Shinji went silent. He stood there for a few minutes, but it seemed like nothing had happened and decided to leave. Just as he was about to exit the door Asuka whispered "Wait"

"What?" he asked.

"Don't leave me," she said pleadingly.

He went back in and picked her up and held her in his arms. He stroked her hair and kissed her softly on her forehead.

"I'm sorry Shinji, I didn't know. All those awful things I said to you…"

"All forgiven, but I would like to hear your story"

Asuka sighed.

"When I was very young my mother was also working on the eva project. She used to play with me a lot but when she started her work on project eva I barely saw her. Then an accident happened when my mother was used as a test subject for Unit-02. She came back different. She was insane and to make it worse she totally ignored me. She had this doll that had red hair and she would act as if it was me. Then one day I was picked to be the second child and pilot of the eva Unit-02. I was so happy I came running home, hoping my mum would take notice of me now that I had a special position. I came home only to find my mother hanging from the ceiling dead, and the doll in her hand had its head ripped off…"

Asuka started crying.

"I made a promise to myself never to rely on anyone, and never to cry again. My father remarried and neither of them really liked me and I grew distant from them. That's why I became so adult-like when I'm just a teenager, that's why I hate dolls, that's why I despise being weak, that's why I hate crying and that's why it was so hard for me to accept this relationship. I couldn't take the pain of someone leaving me again"

Shinji held her tight.

"No one has ever made me cry so much apart from you," she said sniffing.

"I am so sorry you had to go through that. But I promise you Asuka I will never leave you"

"Baka" she whispered teasingly.

He kissed her deeply, wrapping his arms around her. She kissed back and they stayed with their arms around each other for a while. They parted and eventually fell asleep in each other's arms. Misato came back with her shopping to a silent apartment. She checked Asuka's room and saw them sleeping together and she smiled.

"I finally gave some good advice," she said happily.

She turned off the lights and went to sleep herself.

* * *

End Notes: Well there you go, I made Misato find out about the waffles :P. This is my longest chapter so far. Also I would really appreciate more reviews :D, I don't care what you say as long as you don't flood like before, just a simple 'this is a good story' after reading, it doesn't take that long :P. It'll keep me motivated to continue this story.


	9. The Truth

Author's Notes: I'm SO SORRY for taking so long to update this time, usually I do it much quicker but several factors hindered this. First of all I had to reformat my dad's comp and reinstall windows and all his programs then place all his files back into place etc. Then I had a test today so I didn't have any time to do this story and lastly because I was trying to make this story more 'detailed.' I update so fast because I write it out pretty quickly without writing much description, but I sacrifice solid writing as Darknemo puts it. I decided to attempt to put more description, as I like to please all my fans, and so anyway if you dislike the extra detail throw stones at him :D. I'm pretty sure I failed horribly at it anyway oh well I tried. Anyways all those in fear of Asuka becoming lovey-dovey have no fear, she only has her occasional soft moments so do not worry. I don't know what your obsession with the waffles are but I mentioned them in this chapter due to popular demand :P. Regardless this chapter is the beginning to another major turning point in the story. And actually now that I think about it I don't think I make any or hardly any spelling or grammatical mistakes in my chapters, and considering how fast I write them plus I don't have any pre-readers or editors isn't that at least one good thing Darknemo?

* * *

Chapter 9: The Truth

Shinji woke up with Asuka snuggled up to his chest. He looked down at her appreciatively her red hair glistening in the morning sun. It was completely quiet save for the soft breathing of Asuka's sleeping form and a sense of tranquility filled the room. Shafts of sunlight pierced through the blinds on the window creating a mosaic of light and dark patches across the room. He felt the soft beating of her heart against his chest and enjoyed the peaceful moment. Her arms were wrapped around him tightly keeping him in a blanket of warmth. He smiled and attempted to pry her off of him. She only held onto him tighter. Not wanting to disturb her peaceful slumber he held her up and stood up carrying her. He walked like this over to the bathroom and relieved himself. He looked at the clock and saw he didn't have much time before school. He gently shook Asuka awake.

"Asuka wake up, we have school soon"

"I don't care," she grumbled.

He reached under her shirt and tickled her ribs. Instantly she started laughing.

"God damn it Shinji stop exploiting my weaknesses"

"Get ready for school"

"Fine" she sighed in defeat.

"Oh by the way how's your grazes?"

"Don't know, I forgot about them"

He pulled off her shirt and inspected her back.

"Its nothing, it will heal very easily. But does it hurt you?"

"I'm not a cry baby like you"

"I'll take that as a no" he said chuckling.

He let her down and she went back into her room to change into her uniform. Shinji entered the kitchen taking out various ingredients from the cupboards and fridge to make breakfast and their lunches. He whistled quietly to himself as he finished packing their bentos. He went to his room to change himself into his school uniform and pack his school bag. He returned to the kitchen to see Asuka's meal already finished and sat down at the table to eat his breakfast. After finishing he walked to the front door and noticed Asuka standing there waiting for him to finish. He snuck up behind her and nuzzled her neck gently. He reached down and cupped her breasts with his hands. She moaned in pleasure.

"Don't get me aroused now," she scolded Shinji.

He didn't stop, instead reaching under her skirt and stimulating a certain area.

"Stop that now!" she ordered.

He replied by slipping a finger into her panties. She slapped his hand away.

"We have no time, now stop it!"

"Awww"

"Let's go already"

They exited the apartment and began their walk to school.

"So how do you like the play so far?" asked Shinji.

"Its alright, I haven't read much further so I'll have to read it before the practice we have today"

"Me either, but the story is getting kinda interesting"

"You're just happy you get to kiss me in front of everyone" she said sticking her tongue out at him.

"I'd love to kiss you in front of everyone whenever I want"

"Everyone will find out eventually I suppose, so that's likely to happen anyway"

Shinji kissed Asuka softly on the cheek. They walked silently enjoying the cool breeze of the morning. Some cars drove by as they continued on quietly on the footpath for the rest of the walk to school. A few people greeted or smiled at the couple as they walked past them. They arrived at school seeing masses of students walking through the front gate. People were heading into class as school was almost beginning. The two teens walked through the front gates noticing the tons of litter on the ground. The leaves and grass shone with an ethereal sheen of emerald in the morning radiance. Entering the school they began walking to their classroom. School posters covered the walls entirely, most of them promoting the 'great city of Tokyo-3.' Just outside the classroom Rei confronted them. They hadn't seen Rei since the beginning of the week, but it was normal as she usually skipped school. She had a strange look on her face, but she seemed focused on Shinji. Asuka raised her eyebrow at her questioningly.

"Shinji I heard about the incident yesterday and…" Rei started.

She went up and hugged Shinji. He was completely shocked at her display and stood there dumbly. Breaking out of his shock he wrapped his arms around her hugging her back. Rei felt very soft and gentle. Not like Asuka who felt warm and lively whenever he hugged her. Asuka frowned slightly but said nothing.

"I…I am very thankful you are still alive" she finished.

"That's very nice of you Rei" he replied.

"I don't understand these feelings, I felt awful when I heard you had almost died, but was happy you were still alive. Perhaps you can explain it to me later"

"I would be glad to" he answered rubbing her back.

Rei let go of Shinji, kissed him on the cheek and walked into the classroom. Steam was coming out of Asuka's ears. She clearly was not happy about the exchange.

"Its good that Rei is starting to show more emotion" commented Shinji.

"Yeah she's not just a stupid doll anymore" said Asuka cruelly.

"Don't be too hard on her, it seems she's had an unusual life. But she is definitely improving"

"What do you care? She's just a stupid freak, trying to seduce idiots like you"

"Don't tell me you're getting jealous Asuka?"

"No its just that…well…what was she doing pulling those moves? She's obviously trying to take you from me"

Shinji laughed, 'God damn women, do they think all men are unfaithful?'

"So you're suggesting I'd run off with Rei?"

"Well no…um" she couldn't think of anything to say. Shinji just looked at her with a face that said 'I knew it.'

"O.K fine maybe I am a little…jealous. But that's normal"

"Of course" he said in a patronising tone.

"Don't patronise me"

Shinji went and hugged Asuka. Someone coughed.

"Am I interrupting something?" said Toji.

They moved apart.

"Well actually Rei came up to me, hugged me and kissed me. You know women they always want affection so I hugged Asuka so she wouldn't feel left out."

Toji laughed.

"I did not ask you for it!" Asuka said defiantly.

"Well well, who woulda thought Asuka was jealous over Rei flirting with Ikari"

Shinji roared with laughter.

"Shutup, you stupid boys!" shouted Asuka.

She cast the death glare on both of them and instantly they withered under her gaze, becoming piles of jelly.

"There that's better," she said happily.

She walked into the classroom prancing.

"Why is it no man on earth can stand up to her death glare?" said Toji.

Shinji just shrugged. They both walked into class and sat down at their respective desks. The classroom was loud with chatter and the blackboard had 'I hate second impact' scribbled all over it. The teacher walked in and instantly the class quietened.

"Rise! Bow! Sit!" called out Hikari.

"Thank you Miss Horaki," he paused looking at the blackboard and smiling slightly, "now today we will practice the play after our lunch break, so if you don't know your lines practice at the break. But for now I'd like to welcome the principal to say a few words about yesterday."

The principal walks into the classroom.

"Miss Souryu?"

"Here sir" said Asuka standing up.

"Mr. Ikari?"

"Here sir" said Shinji standing up.

"Now I was told by sensei here yesterday you saved Mr. Ikari from drowning is that right Miss Souryu?"

"Hai" she answered.

"I'd like to give a special thanks to you miss, its not everyday people do things like that for other people"

"I accept your gratitude"

"Now I'd like to give you something for your efforts"

He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Asuka. She examined it. It was a certificate for good community service.

"Now I very rarely give those out, only when a student does something special. This is a very special certificate, when applying for a job or something people will recognise this and your chances of getting employed are much higher"

"I thank you very much," said Asuka.

He went and shook her hand smiling a cheesy grin.

"You must be very grateful for her actions" he said looking at Shinji.

"I am sir," Shinji answered.

"Okay I better let you get back to work, good luck"

With that he left the room closing the door behind him. Both Shinji and Asuka sat down.

"Now let the class begin," said the teacher as he began lecturing, yes you guessed it, the ever-pointless topic of second impact. Asuka looked up as she saw a message blinking on her screen. She looked at Shinji but he was just staring at Rei. She shook her head slightly annoyed but opened the message wondering whom it was from.

_Hi this is Toji,_

_just asking you if you have noticed the changes in Shinji? He seems a lot more cheerful and not so introverted and well not so Shinji._

She was surprised. She quickly began typing a reply.

_Yeah you mean he's grown a spine. Yes he definitely seems more outgoing and confident. I don't know what has caused this._

_Lol grown a spine, I can only guess its you Asuka, so keep up the good work. Whatever it is you're doing even if you don't realise what it is, keep it up, I've never seen Shinji so happy. He seems to generally enjoy your company, maybe he likes you._

She was shocked to hear this coming from Toji.

_Toji I thought you hated me? And Shinji liking me I don't think so. Maybe he's just happy because I saved his life yesterday._

_I don't HATE you, you just scare me :P. Perhaps you're right about Shinji, but don't be mean to him if he comes up to you confessing his feelings. I mean I know you probably don't like him that way, but be nice._

_He wouldn't have the guts to ask me out, but I'll be nice if he does._

_Thank you._

She looked back over to Shinji and noticed he was still looking at Rei.

'What is he doing staring at that doll?' she thought. She tapped her desk as she waited impatiently for the class to end. Finally after what felt like years the bell rang. The class got out of their seats and piled out of the classroom to have their lunch break. Asuka went over to Shinji and tapped him on the shoulder.

"So what were you doing staring at the freakazoid?" she asked.

"Huh? What?" he said confused.

"I saw you staring at Rei"

"Oh, I was just wondering why she always looks out the window"

"You seem very interested in her recently, are you sure nothing's going on?"

"Asuka please, I was just thinking about the unusualness of Rei's behaviour. You know you are my only one"

"Well what the hell am I supposed to think?"

"Look its alright, I understand what you're saying but I'm telling you there's no need to worry"

"Jeez I can't believe I'm behaving like this over _you_" Asuka said sticking her tongue out at him.

Shinji laughed. They walked down to their usual lunch spot and sat down with their friends in the shade of a tree. The grass felt soft beneath their feet as they began eating their food.

"Can I see your certificate Asuka?" asked Hikari.

"Sure"

Asuka handed it to Hikari. Hikari examined it with curiosity.

"It looks nice and it shows the appreciation of the school"

Asuka snorted. "Well its o.k I guess, at least it can be used for something" she said.

"We should practice our lines while we have time, we are doing the play after lunch after all" said Hikari.

"Good idea"

They all got out their copies of the play from their bags and began reading their parts. Time seemed to stand still, the occasional cloud covering the sun being the only indication that time was passing. They got so absorbed in their work they jumped when they heard the bell. They placed their copies back into their bags and began walking back to the school building. They did not return to class knowing that they had practice and walked towards the stage room. They re-read their lines as they walked just to be ready. Upon entering the stage room the teacher opened the storeroom which held all the costumes and props. Students took out what they needed and changed into their appropriate costumes. The scene was set up, back to the dark night in the forest. Soon all props were in place and Shinji and Asuka moved beside the sleeping beds.

"Let us begin from where we left off, Asuka and Shinji if you may start from the kiss"

Thus the play began again. They looked at each other for a moment before Asuka moved her face towards his and kissed him. She moved her arms around him to pull him closer, and Shinji responded by kissing her back. After a moment they parted.

"Princess…?"

"I shouldn't be doing this, but you make me feel like myself. I don't want to marry the king"

"My duty as a knight says I should stop this and escort you to the king. But my heart says to continue this, I cannot decide"

"Then let me decide for you," she said.

She moved once again towards him and kissed him. They moved down onto the bed, Shinji went on top and kissed her boldly. He covered them with the blanket signifying the end of the scene. They changed the scenery from being dark to light. Next morning the knight and princess wake up together.

"This is a not a good situation I put us in now," said the princess.

"Yes my lady, I think it be wise to go take you to the king"

"But what about you?"

"Do not worry about me I am but a humble knight, I do not wish to see this country go to war. It is for the greater good that I take you to the king"

"I guess you are right" the princess said sadly. "Let's get going then shall we," she said.

They packed up their camp and prepared everything, then mounted the horse and rode off towards the castle. They saw the castle in the distance and a feeling of foreboding descended upon them.

"We are almost there my Lady, I'd say only a few hours now"

The princess stayed silent. "Perhaps you wish to take one more break before we arrive?"

"I am alright, just ride to the castle"

He continued on. Finally they arrived at the castle just a bit before evening. They dismounted the horse and walked up to the castle guards.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

"I Princess Adelita Sankt have come from my country to marry your king"

"Ah princess you have finally arrived, but we still need to check your proper identification papers"

"Right here" she said pulling paper out of her pocket.

The guard examined it.

"Welcome to Castle Silver Moon your Highness, one last thing who here is this man?"

"A knight of your kingdom of name Jonathan, he has escorted me here safely"

"Well then I bid you well, you may enter. I will have guard Thomas show you to the throne room"

"Thank you"

"Right this way your Highness" said Guard Thomas.

He walked on in and they followed him. The trip was long and in complete silence. They walked up and down stairs and between baileys and walls until arriving at the keep. Finally they arrived at the throne room.

"Here is the throne room your Highness, you will meet our king here"

With that the guard left. The princess began to shake nervously.

"Do not fear princess, our king is a good man"

The knight opened the door for her and they walked in. They walked up the room to the throne and saw the king sitting down on it. He looked down at them.

"What business have you here?"

"My Lord, I am Princess Adelita Sankt, I was sent here to marry you as an alliance pact"

"Ah so you have finally arrived, I can begin the marriage ceremony at once, scribe make a list of everyone we are inviting and send them the proper invitations"

"Yes my Lord" said the scribe.

"Who is this man with you Princess?"

"He is one of your knights, he escorted me to your castle"

"Very good job indeed, I will make sure you are rewarded"

"I thank you humbly your Highness" said the knight.

"Call in Sister Joanne, we shall commence all tests and such"

"Tests sir?" said the princess.

"Oh just standard procedure, before marriage we have to test maidenhood"

The princess gulped. A small nun came in.

"Ah sister, please begin"

She nodded.

"Your Highness please come with me"

They walked into a private room. They waited for a few minutes, before the nun emerged and the princess emerged.

"Sister is she pure and virtuous?"

The small nun shook her head.

"She has lain with men sire, there is clear proof"

The king's face turned to anger.

"What is this? Your kingdom promised me a maiden, what treachery is this?"

"Well…that is…" the princess started.

"Is this a sign they want to go to war?" asked the king.

"No your Highness" said the knight.

Everyone in the room turned to him.

"I am at fault, she arrived to this country pure however I had her. Do not punish her for my wrong"

"You one of my trusted knights betrayed me? This is treason. I will have your head. However all is not lost, she was given as a pure maiden, the marriage will go ahead. Now My Lady, I am sorry for being rude, but I did not know. I understand it would be hard to resist because of his strength and it is not something you would like to admit. I have a room prepared for you my servant will show you the way." A servant came up to the princess and took her out of the room.

"Now you sir knight, how could you of all people be a traitor?"

"I am terribly sorry, I gave in to temptation"

"I will have you executed, you will be stripped of all your titles, and you will be remembered as a traitor, no one will weep for you"

"I have no one anyway"

"Guards take this man to the prison"

Two big men came over to the knight, grabbed him by the arms and pulled him away. They took him down deep into the earth and shoved him into a dark dank cell. They locked the door and left.

"I should have known, only bad things happen to me. At least it will all be over" he said in self-pity.

He sat there until he fell asleep.

He awoke to the sound of someone calling his name. He looked around and saw someone outside his cell holding a torch.

"Who's there, what do you want?"

The person brought the torch in front of her to reveal the princess.

"It's me Adelita"

"Princess what are you doing down here?"

"I know I shouldn't be down here but I wanted to see you, it was noble what you did for me but you do not deserve to die"

"Do not worry it is a far greater cause that this country stay in peace"

"But I was at fault, also the king plans to execute you in front of me, I don't think I can bear watching you die. Alas I cannot open this prison"

"Nor would it change anything, I would forever be seen as a traitor to this country, I could go nowhere and my honour gone"

"Is your life worth nothing to you?" she said angrily.

"I have nothing left now, no one cares"

"I care! Do you not see? You think I would lay with some random person like I'm some common whore? No I chose you because I love you!"

He looked at her shocked.

"I can see you're the one who does not care," she said with venom, turning to leave.

"Wait!"

She stopped and turned around. He got up and walked to the bars. He reached out and held her hand.

"I love you too…but there is nothing I can do"

She gripped his hand hard.

"I will speak with the king, I will find a way"

"Do not worry Adelita, I chose this path and I accept it"

"I must go before someone finds me here, goodnight my knight"

With that she hurried off. The knight went back to sleep waking up the next day to a pair of men picking him up and dragging him out. He was brought to a courtyard and dragged to the middle where there was a headstock. The executioner stood there, sharpening his axe. His head was placed in the headstock and it was locked. He looked up and saw the king and the princess sitting in front of him.

"Now my dear, you will see this vile man killed, you will have your revenge" said the king. The princess had a sick look on her face.

"Executioner have him beheaded!" the king commanded.

The man brought up his axe and walked over to the knight's head. He placed the axe over his head and got ready to swing. He lifted his axe and swung, but just before he decapitated him the princess screamed.

"Wait!"

The executioner halted mere millimetres from the knight's head. Everyone turned to the princess.

"This can't happen, that man does not deserve to die he has done nothing wrong. I was the one who chose to lay with him, him being a humble person accepted the blame to keep peace in this land"

"Adelita, I was ready to die, you did not have to save me"

"I was not ready to accept your death…"

"A true knight to the end" said the king "You almost had me execute a knight with more honour than anyone I've known"

"I did not wish for it to happen this way, and he was the one who took the blame upon himself" said the princess.

"Princess you knew what you were doing and what would happen, so why did you sleep with this man?"

"Because I love him, no offence to you Your Highness, but I did not want this. I was forced into this arranged marriage"

"But that is customary"

"I implore you Your Majesty I will go ahead with this marriage, but please do not kill that man," she begged.

The king sat there thinking for a while.

"I have grown old in age I doubt I can bear this country a heir. With this in mind and the nobility of this man I think I put my kingdom in safe hands when I say that this man will be my heir. Therefore Princess you will be married to this 'prince' and no war will occur"

The Princess smiled.

"Thank you O wise and kind king," she said hugging him and kissing him on the cheek.

"Think nothing of it my daughter, it would be a sin to separate two lovers. Release this man!" the king commanded.

The executioner unlocked the headstock and freed the knight. The princess ran over to him and hugged him sobbing on his shoulder.

"There, there Adelita its all over"

Then the curtain closed. The teacher began clapping.

"Good work class, we've finished the play, just keep practicing to perfect it and we'll be ready to present it. Now get out of your costumes, clean up the set and come sit down for your dismissal"

The class changed out of their costumes placing them back into the storeroom, all the props were taken off the stage and also placed into the storeroom. The stage was cleaned up and the class sat down together.

"Now there are no more practice sessions, so school returns to normal. School finishes in a few minutes. Class dismissed"

The students rushed out of the room eager to go home. Asuka walked beside Shinji as they exited the room.

"What an interesting play though I have to say it's a bit too soapy. I mean a happy ending like that it's so unrealistic"

"You'd prefer the knight and princess both die?"

"Well no but…ah never mind"

They walked out of the school accompanied by wolf whistles and the like.

"Oh shutup you idiots!" shouted Asuka throwing a rock at one of the boys.

They headed home thankful for the peace and quiet.

"You don't think people can have a happy ending?" asked Shinji out of the blue.

"It like never happens, a lot of marriages turn into divorce, girlfriends and boyfriends break up. People always leave each other in the end, even if it means by death"

"You're saying we won't have a happy ending?"

"I didn't mean…but…I wasn't saying that"

"Well you did say people ALWAYS leave each other"

"Look Shinji, this was one of the reasons it was so hard to accept this relationship. I can't take another person abandoning me. In my logical reasoning all I could see was no matter whom the person they would eventually leave me. But you were different. You promised you'd never leave me with such honesty, and it made me feel like no matter what happened, even if I said I hated you, you'd stay and endure me"

Shinji looked at her and hugged her tight.

"Is that why you were so upset about the Rei thing? I'm so sorry"

"Honestly you are such a baka" she said rolling her eyes.

"Yeah and I'm your baka" he said jokingly. She couldn't help her lips from twitching a bit.

"Let's just get home" she said.

They finished walking to their apartment, taking the elevator to their floor. They entered their living place which was a pigsty, as usual.

"We're home," they shouted. No response. They closed the door and went to the living room to check. Shinji checked Misato's room while Asuka checked the bathroom, both unsuccessful in locating human life. There was no one here.

"Misato's been gone since morning, I wonder what's going on" said Shinji.

"Must be something at Nerv" she remarked.

"Let's go play our console, maybe I'll win this time" he said excitedly.

"You'll never beat me in any game Shinji, you should know that by now"

Shinji recalled all their evenings in the arcade being smashed by her. He knew it was true.

"Well practicing against you makes me better so who knows"

They took out their playstation console and connected it to the T.V. Shinji looked through their games, trying to decide which game he was best at. He made his choice and prepared the game. They sat down together on the couch controllers in hand. Street Fighter loaded up and the two teens chose their characters, beginning their fight. They played vigorously, the sound of button mashing was heard throughout. Shinji was winning at the moment with him winning 10 rounds while Asuka only 8.

"Oh I can't beat you can I?" said Shinji smugly.

"I should've known this is what I would get for going easy on you. Besides you just surprised me, I didn't think you'd play this good" she refuted.

"Sure"

"That's it," she said angrily.

Asuka began to play much better beating Shinji relentlessly. The score soon changed to 10 to 20. Shinji decided to change tactics. He reached under her skirt with one hand and rubbed her panties. She moaned and lost her concentration and Shinji killed her.

"What the hell was that? Don't play dirty Ikari!"

"I don't know what you're talking about" he said innocently.

She just scowled. He continued to subtly distract her awarding him many wins, bringing the score to a tying 24 to 24. First to win 25 rounds wins the match.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing Shinji. I know its you so stop it" she said irritated.

"Maybe I'm just better than you and you're making up excuses," he said almost laughing.

"I'll never let you win again" she said determined.

This time he moved in front of her pulling her panties down and bringing his head down to lick her moist vagina. She let out a loud moan, instinctively opening her legs giving him more room to attack. She accidentally dropped her controller and Shinji quickly took advantage of the situation, finishing her off, making him win the match. She pushed him off of her and looked at the T.V. She noticed it said that Shinji had won. She quickly turned off the console preventing it from recording the win.

"I don't appreciate you cheating third child"

"I wasn't cheating," he said childishly.

"Oh really, how stupid do you think I am?"

"Aww come on Asuka its just a game"

"Yeah that didn't count and it didn't record it, you have no proof you won," she said sticking her tongue out at him. "I'll admit though you played much better than before, but you still can't beat me"

He pushed her up against a wall. He ever so irritatingly brushed his knee against her private region making her squirm a little.

"I can still beat you in this" he whispered into her ear. He kissed her hard on the lips, slipping his tongue inside her mouth. He used his free hands to roam about her body. "How long haven't we had sex?" asked Shinji parting.

"Since yesterday when I rescued you from drowning" she said aspiratingly.

"Seems like years"

He slowly pulled off her shirt, allowing it to fall to the floor. He held her shoulders while he moved his mouth down to trail kisses along her neck. He teasingly licked the hollows in her neck while slowly moving his hand behind her back. He unhooked her bra, pulling it off and throwing it to the other side of the room. He looked down admiringly at her soft firm breasts. He moved further down and kissed her in the valley between her two orbs. She moaned softly and ran her hand softly through his thick brown hair. She used her other hand to slowly take off his shirt.

He proceeded to suck her erect nipples, sliding his tongue around the little bud deliciously. She wriggled a little at his ministrations. He moved one hand down her back to fondle her ass, while the other tended to her other breast. Asuka managed to pull off his shirt and wrapped her arms around him pulling him closer to her. She moaned loudly as his face was pressed against her chest gently stimulating her sensitive globes. Shinji moved off of her for a second and Asuka quickly brought her face down to his chest. She gently suckled and flicked his nipple with her tongue while her hand reached down to unbuckle his trousers. Shinji stroked her silky smooth hair and traced his finger along her back making her shiver.

When Asuka finished removing his pants Shinji returned the favor and started on her skirt. Both their bodies heated up in excitement and Asuka growing impatient, helped Shinji take off her skirt. She kissed him aggressively, rubbing herself against his lower region. She felt his growing member, pleading for attention. She slipped off his boxers as he kissed her roughly, rubbing his erect cock against her thighs. They stood there; Asuka pinned against the wall, Shinji all over her. Both completely naked. He positioned himself at the entrance to her lower lips and teased her moist slit with his tip. He planted wet kisses on her breasts, enjoying the frustration the redhead felt as he continued to delay.

"Open your legs wider," ordered Shinji.

She did so and Shinji lifted her up, supporting her on his hips while holding her up with his arms. She held onto him tightly, her breasts pressing into his chest. She wrapped her legs around his waist and began to trail kisses along his neck and shoulders. He used his leverage to plunge her down onto his cock while thrusting up.

"God!" she cried.

He grunted in pleasure as his cock sunk into her tight warm pussy as he thrust again. She pulled him closer to her trying to get his cock as deep inside her as possible as he continued to penetrate her. He continued this rhythm, increasing pace until he was pounding into her relentlessly. She cried with pleasure and ecstasy, her moans so loud Shinji almost lost concentration. He kissed her passionately, feeling her moans as he pushed inside her. She aroused him so much he felt the burning sensation in his cock build up and he came, his semen spurting up her vagina. He stopped to take a breath and Asuka groaned in frustration.

"Since when have you ever cum before me?" she asked him puzzled.

"That's actually the second time. Your noises were so erotic you made me cum"

She laughed.

"Sorry but you were fucking me so hard, I couldn't keep silent"

"Well anyways I have to get erect again"

He let her down and Asuka eagerly wanting an orgasm went down and began sucking his cock. She licked with her tongue along his shaft expertly, getting it erect again very quickly. Shinji picked Asuka up and carried her, placing her on the dining table.

"No fair, you can't fuck me as hard this way," she protested.

"I don't want to cum too early again," he said.

He pushed open her legs, moving between them and positioning his cock at her entrance again. He held her legs ready to penetrate her; he could feel the moistness and heat radiating out from her pussy. He came again. Right then and there. He couldn't believe it. Asuka was growing irritated from prolonged unsatisfaction.

"Shinji what the hell is wrong?"

"I don't know, this has never happened before"

She groaned in frustration.

"And I was so close too. One more time and if you cum again just give me oral sex, I won't be able to stand this much longer"

This time she used her hand to fondle his cock, moving it up and down his shaft. He soon grew to his full size again. Shinji did not hesitate and just rammed it straight in, for fear of cumming again. She cried out in pleasure as he used her hips as support, thrusting deep into her.

"Oh God, Oh God I'm gonna cum!"

No sooner had she said this when she orgasmed, screaming with satisfaction. She wrapped her legs around Shinji tightly pulling him in as far as possible and keeping him there. Her vaginal walls clamped down around Shinji's cock, making him cum again. He continued to thrust slowing his pace as his cock finally released his last shot. He collapsed on top of her exhausted. They both were breathing deeply. He withdrew from her, letting her legs down. Asuka sat up unsteadily, having a fairly pleased look on her face. Shinji placed his lips over hers and held her gently as she kissed him back. They parted gazing at each other, Asuka with a cheeky expression on her face.

"Best we do no more, Mr. Pointy is a little too excited," said Asuka.

Shinji laughed. "Yes good idea"

He kissed her again, running his hand through her beautiful red hair. He lifted her to her feet and nuzzled her neck tenderly.

"I thought you agreed to stop," she said pouting.

"Fine, fine"

He released her and she picked up her clothes, strewn about the room, and dressed up again. Shinji followed suit and walked into the kitchen. He began to prepare some food for them with a little extra in case Misato came home. He hummed softly as he smiled to himself.

* * *

A distressed Misato just left the Commander's office. He had told her the truth. Everything regarding instrumentality, Seele's intent and the true nature of the evas were told to her. The Commander believed his scenario was no longer possible and so did not pursue it. Instead he started formulating plans to counter Seele, the first part of which was to tell the head of tactical operations (Misato) everything. She found out about Rei being a half clone of Shinji's mother and an angel, she found out that the evas had a soul trapped inside which was what allowed the eva to be pilotable.

"How am I ever going to tell the children?" she thought aloud. "I can't get out of this either, they're gonna wonder why I was gone for so long, and I'll have to tell them everything." She sighed. "Best get this over with"

"Hey Misato you look down, I got something that might cheer you up" said the Nerv cafeteria lady.

"Oh really what is it?" she asked curious.

"Waffles!" she exclaimed.

"I'll pass" said Misato hanging her head.

"Oh come on, you told me the other day how much you loved waffles. You couldn't stop ranting and raving about how Shinji made the best waffles you'd ever tasted"

"No really I don't want them" she said looking a bit sick.

"I put extra special ingredients in them just for you"

Misato pulled out her gun, pointing it at the lady "I DON'T WANT THE WAFFLES!" she yelled.

"Alright, alright" said the lady sweat dropping.

Misato holstered her pistol and trudged to her car. She turned on the ignition and drove out of Nerv. Upon arriving at her apartment she parked her car. She entered the apartment and took the stairs instead of the elevator trying to delay the inevitable as long as possible. When she reached her floor she opened her door.

"I'm home" she called out.

Shinji came out of the kitchen.

"Oh hey Misato, haven't seen you for a while. I made enough food so you could eat as well, come sit down"

"Thanks Shinji" she said gratefully. She hadn't eaten much today and she wanted anything to get her mind off waffles…She went and sat down at the table, which was already occupied by Asuka.

"Hi Misato" said Asuka warmly.

"Hi Asuka" she answered.

All three people began to eat.

"So Misato you haven't been here since morning or during the night even, something happen at Nerv?" asked Shinji.

Misato stopped eating and looked at them.

"Yeah the commander did something very strange…" she started.

"What's that?" pondered Shinji.

"He told me the truth"

Asuka laughed.

"I'm sure he makes up a lot of lies, but I'm sure he's told the truth sometimes" she said.

"That's not what I meant Asuka. He told me the truth about Nerv, about everything…"

"What are you talking about? Nerv is here to destroy the angels isn't it?" asked Shinji.

"Yes and no. I'll have to tell you everything, you have a right to know"

She paused, getting all the facts ready in her head.

"Nerv is funded by an organisation called Seele. They have an ulterior motive for running Nerv as did Gendo, but they were similar. I'll start by explaining the evas, both of you remember how you lost your mother's don't you?"

They both nodded.

"Well what actually happened in those accidents is that both your mother's were absorbed by the evas, not unlike how Shinji was absorbed. Truth is evas cannot run without a soul"

"You don't mean…?" said Asuka horrified.

"Yes both your mother's souls are trapped inside their respective evas, that is why only you can sync with them properly"

"What about Unit 00?" asked Shinji.

"That contains the soul of Ritsuko's mother, Naoko, she committed suicide by jumping off the edge onto the eva. Her soul must have been absorbed somehow. That is why it is very temperamental"

"Then what's up with Rei? I mean she's not the daughter of Naoko" asked Asuka.

"She is also a strange case, you might be shocked by what I'm about to tell you"

"It can't be as bad as anything you've told us already right?" said Asuka.

Misato took a breath.

"Rei is not a normal human, she is actually a clone made from Shinji's mother's DNA and an angel's DNA. Furthermore there is a tank of these clones in Nerv ready to 'replace' her if she dies"

"That can't be? My sister?" said Shinji in disbelief.

"Why is she so important to Nerv?" said Asuka a little angrily.

"I'm getting to that. But I must now explain Instrumentality. It is a process where every human being on the earth become one."

"What the hell?" said Asuka.

"You know what an AT-field is?" asked Misato.

"Yeah"

"Well everyone has an AT-field, it is the barrier of your soul, its what holds you together. Instrumentality breaks the AT-fields and merges the souls of all humans"

"Speaking of AT-fields, does Rei have one?" asked Shinji curious.

"Everyone has one, but yes she can project it out like angels and evas can"

"Back to Instrumentality, what has it got to do with anything?" asked Asuka.

"Well Seele wants Instrumentality to occur, they want to 'evolve' mankind into a new race so we can be closer to God, or something like that. Your father Shinji had a similar motive, he wanted to create a controlled Instrumentality to try and be reunited with your mother"

"He still cared…" said Shinji sadly.

"Anyway Rei is an integral part to controlling Instrumentality that's why Gendo made sure he couldn't lose her and that she was obedient"

"One thing I don't understand, where did all this Instrumentality hogwash come from?" asked Asuka.

"They found a document called the Dead Sea Scrolls. Myths and legends aside, these scrolls described events that would transpire on earth. That is how they knew the angels would attack and all. It showed a scenario that they had to follow for Instrumentality to occur"

"So we were just being used?" asked Asuka angrily.

"What's to expect from the Commander…" said Misato.

"Why did the Commander tell you all this?"

"That's the thing I don't get either, he's abandoned the scenario. But when Seele find out they'll attack us to make sure Instrumentality occurs. But all angels must be dead, and they need Lillith, Adam, Unit 01 and the Lance of Longinus, all of which are in Nerv's possession. Which is why we are in danger. But it also means we are needed to kill the remaining angels that are to come"

"Let them come there is nothing Eva's can't beat that's human-made"

"Except for other Eva's" said Misato.

"What?" said Shinji disheartened.

"Seele has created evas 05 to 13, all run by the dummy plug system you're familiar with Shinji…"

Shinji remembered the time when Toji was used as a candidate to sync with Unit 03, but it was infected by an angel and went rampart. They were sent to stop him, but Shinji refused to attack for fear of hurting the pilot which he didn't know was Toji. Then Commander Ikari ran the dummy plug system which took control over the eva and decimated Unit 03. Luckily Toji survived without any serious injuries.

"This is all hopeless" said Shinji.

"No it isn't, Commander Ikari wouldn't have gone against Seele for no reason. We have the Magi and Ritsuko. We have all the factors which affect Instrumentality. Lastly we have the two best evas in the entire world, who can easily take on 9 evas"

All three of them stayed silent, the new information being absorbed and digested.

"This is so weird, its like a nightmare but real" said Asuka.

"This changes so many things" said Shinji.

"I know, I wish things were different, but we'll just have to accept it. Anyway back to reality you have a sync test tomorrow after school"

"Damn" Shinji said.

"Don't forget Shinji, we need to bathe in LCL regularly" said Asuka.

"Oh yeah" said Shinji remembering.

Misato just looked at them confused but shook it off.

"That reminds me, it was your father Shinji that drugged the LCL if you were wondering"

"Why did he do that?"

"He didn't say"

"What could it possibly be? If his scenario isn't going as it was planned, he wouldn't have drugged it so that I'd get with Asuka"

They sat there silently pondering the Commander's motives. None of them could think of a reason. Misato decided she would move them off the topic.

"So what's wrong with you guys?"

They both looked at her strangely.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Asuka.

"Well usually you two wouldn't be able to get your hands off each other. I thought when I came in I'd interrupt something" she said laughing.

"Misato!" said Shinji embarrassed.

"Can't it be perfectly normal for two people in a relationship to not have sex all the time?" said Asuka.

"Nope your relationship is too recent for that to happen, believe me I know"

Asuka snorted.

"Yeah says you who stayed a week away from school in a bed with a guy"

"Shutup!" Misato said blushing. "Besides I can tell you're hiding something, so spill!"

"There's something wrong with Shinji's manhood"

"Asuka!" said Shinji.

"Isn't it fun embarrassing Shinji?" said Misato.

"Of course!" Asuka said gleefully.

"So anyway, let me guess…is it impotence?"

"No the opposite actually if there's such a thing"

"Of course there is, just about every man suffers from this"

Asuka fell on the floor laughing. Shinji could not take this conversation anymore and walked out leaving the two girls in the living room.

"I take it Misato you've had to fake many orgasms with a comment like that. Do so many men have no 'stamina?'"

"You wouldn't believe"

Shinji decided he would leave the apartment for some fresh air and returned to the living room.

"I'm going for a walk" he stated walking to the door.

"But its really dark now, not to mention freezing cold" said Asuka.

"That's exactly why I'm going, I need a cool refreshing night"

Asuka sensed an ulterior motive but decided to leave it.

"See ya" she said.

"Bye Asuka, bye Misato" he said waving.

He opened the door and walked out. He took the stairs down instead of the lift, noticing the tranquil silence in the stairwell. As he left the building he felt the cold, icy wind biting at him. His cheeks turned red from the chill as he walked to the park. He sat down on a park bench, looking up at the night sky. There were many stars visible tonight, a rare sight in the city of Tokyo-3, and Shinji enjoyed the spectacle with awe. He thought back to their conversation. He knew Misato changed the subject to try and lift the mood, but he needed time to think about what he just found out. He was lost in thought when a ragged man came up to where Shinji was sitting. The man hadn't shaved for a while making his face all covered in hair. He had a sad look about him, his features indistinguishable in the darkness of the night.

"Mind if I sit here" the man said hoarsely startling Shinji a little.

"Not at all sir" he answered politely.

"I haven't been called sir in a while"

He sat down quietly and looked up at the stars with Shinji.

"You're not disgusted in the least of my presence, most people ignore me or walk away"

"Most people are good people or have some good inside them, I know you won't do anything to me and everyone needs someone to talk to"

"Such nice words from a stranger" he said pausing. "You know I had it all once, money and a good woman. But I lost it all, don't make the same mistake"

"What are you talking about?"

"Here take this you need it more than I do." The man pressed a bundle of cloth into his hand. "I must go, thank you for your kindness"

The man walked off into the night disappearing. Shinji couldn't help but think his voice sounded familiar. A car drove by taking Shinji out of his reverie and he pocketed the bundle remembering why he had actually gotten out of the house. He began to head in another direction. After a few minutes of walking he reached his destination. He looked at the rundown apartment in front of him, it was falling apart like the last time he was here. He entered the building taking the stairs up and arriving at Rei's door. He knew her doorbell didn't work and she wouldn't hear him knocking so he just opened the door (knowing it had no lock).

"Rei its me Shinji" he called out.

He walked into her room and looked around, it was just as messy as it was the first time he had arrived. He cleaned up the place making sure everything was neat and tidy. Rei was nowhere to be seen. He sat down on her bed waiting, looking out the window. He heard a door opening and looked towards the sound. It was the bathroom door. A strange sense of déjà vu came over him and he quickly looked away just in case she came out naked again. To his luck she had just gone to the toilet. She walked into the room and noticed Shinji there.

"Shinji what are you doing here at this time?" she asked surprised.

"I'm sorry for the time"

"Do not worry as long as it is important." She came over and sat down next to him on the bed.

"So what's wrong?"

"Rei I found out about your origin, and I won't lie to you it disturbs me." Rei looked a little hurt. "But it also makes you something like a half-sister to me, and I guess its true in a way since my father made you. Apparently when they came to deciding names for the child when my mother was pregnant, they decided they would call it Shinji if it was a boy and Rei if it was a girl"

"Shinji I'll understand if you don't want to be near me"

"That's not it. You see…I'm glad I have a sister"

He hugged her tight wanting to show her that he cared for her. Rei was shocked for a moment but soon began to hug him back, comforting her 'brother.' Shinji looked up at her trying to find the words he sought. (Unbelievable I almost wrote 'seeked' here )

"Why is it my father could never love me if he could love you?"

"The Commander saw Yui in me and the hope of reviving her," she looked over to her desk where the glasses lay, but now they were broken. "But you Shinji, have shown me my independence, I value my life now. I will not blindly follow the Commander's orders. Thank you Shinji for showing me…" she broke off her eyes starting to water. "What is this strange feeling?" she said wiping her eyes dry.

"Well it depends" said Shinji chuckling softly "usually humans cry when they are happy or sad"

"I think I understand" she said.

"I love you Rei" he said stroking her blue hair.

Rei understood and smiled, making her look incredibly beautiful. Suddenly self-conscious he looked at his watch, it was real late.

"Well Rei I best be going its extremely late, Misato and Asuka will be worried"

"Don't go Shinji, its too late to go out now. There are people out there who would do many things for money its too dangerous. I'm sure Asuka and Misato would be more upset if they knew I let you out at this time and something happened to you"

"O.k, I'll go sleep on the couch or something"

"That is acceptable"

Shinji got a blanket from Rei's cupboard and sat down on the couch covering himself with it. Rei got into her bed and pulled the covers over her. They settled down comfortably listening to the strange creaks the old building made.

"Goodnight Rei" he said quietly.

"Goodnight" she answered.

They both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Where is that baka?" asked Asuka starting to get worried, "he's been gone for very long now"

"That guy didn't take his mobile" said Misato holding his mobile up.

"Great that moron is so stupid sometimes, doesn't he realise I'm getting worried?"

"Look I'm sure he's fine, he's run away before and he came back in one piece"

"But its so late, I'm gonna look for him, something may have happened to him"

"I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that"

"Why not?"

"Because I can't afford to lose you Asuka, something could happen to you at this time of night"

"But what about Shinji?"

"Well he's not totally stupid I'm sure he's taken residence in a hotel or something"

"He didn't take any money"

"Well maybe he's at a friends house, he even came across Kensuke camping once, he'll be fine"

"But…"

"No buts we're gonna stay here till tomorrow when its safe to go look for him"

"Can't we ring his friends then?"

"Its too late, they probably won't pick it up being asleep." Asuka was defeated, she paced around hoping nothing had happened to him. "Asuka look I know how you feel, but you need to get some sleep. If only so that you can get up early tomorrow to look for him"

Asuka finally relented "O.k, I'll go to sleep"

Asuka dressed into her night gear and got into her bed and fell asleep being absolutely exhausted.

* * *

End Notes: Zomg Shinji loves Rei? What's happening? Nah its so obvious he only thinks of her as a sister. Anyways there's a reason for this happening and you will see next chapter. Btw the play is a story I came up with while writing this fanfic, so its purely mine trademarked and copyrighted :P. Its crap but its mine nonetheless. Anyways as always I would greatly appreciate any reviews, hope you liked this chapter which happens to be my longest so far.


	10. Starting Over Again

Author's Notes: Well this update took a while, mainly because I was taking a break actually. I had written 9 chapters in a row non-stop and decided to take a short break from writing this fic. Well anyway its finally done. Now to clear up a few misunderstandings, first about that knight/lady story I think you misunderstood what I meant. I literally made up that story as I was writing the fic, there is no original, if that story was one of my real stories I would have gladly given you the gun to shoot me. You don't have to use no euphemisms like 'far from impressive' it was absolute rubbish, I only finished it for completeness sake. It does however have a purpose (not to waste time and space I assure you :P), you've probably already figured it out though. Anyways whenever there is a story within a story people sometimes ask if I got it from somewhere else, and I answered this question before anyone asked. That was all I said that for. Now the second thing, when Asuka twitched her lips. Have you ever had that feeling when your lips twitch slightly, like when a teacher is telling you off and you find it funny, but you can't laugh cause you'll get in deep shit but you can't help your lips twitching a bit into a smile, I'm sure you've experienced it. Anyways that's precisely what Asuka was doing I hope I explained it to you and you understand. Oh and btw there is no sex in this chapter and there probably won't be for a while and you'll see why :D. I still don't think I'm doing description properly but I think I definitely improved.

* * *

Chapter 10: Starting Over Again

Asuka awoke very early in the morning, fighting the pain in her eyes as she forced them open. Her room was still quite dark compared to when she usually got up. She fought desperately with her weary body to get up. She found herself stumbling onto the floor and bit her lip in pain as she stubbed her toe against her desk. She grumbled irritated and held her injured foot in an attempt to ease the pain. She found herself looking around the room blearily, noticing how different it looked early in the morning. Her lamp stand cast a creepy silhouette across her room and the poster on her wall looked more like a picture of a transvestite than a singer. She silently snickered to herself and then remembered why she had gotten up so early. She turned on the lights, instantly wishing she hadn't as the bright light assaulted her eyes. She felt dazed for a moment as she attempted to adjust her eyes to the agonising light. Finally recovering from her temporary blindness she took out her school uniform from the wardrobe and began dressing up. It took her a full 15 minutes to tie her shoelaces as she felt so lethargic. She was growing quite frustrated with herself.

She opened her door to go to the bathroom and peered out into the dark hallway. Though the apartment was dark, her memory was good enough that she was able to successfully traverse the hallway and reach the bathroom. She entered the bathroom and switched on the light. She went over to the sink and splashed cold water over her face in an attempt to wake her from her drowsiness. Feeling more awake she looked at herself in the mirror. She had dark circles underneath her eyes and her hair was in absolute disarray looking as if she had been struck by a thunderbolt. She grabbed a brush and fixed herself up. She didn't have enough time to waste making herself ready and settled for looking somewhat presentable. She switched off the bathroom light and walked back to her room. She took her keys and looked around her room, making sure she wasn't forgetting anything. Satisfied she had what she needed she switched off her light plunging the apartment into darkness once again. Her eyes adjusted very quickly this time and she was able to proceed to the exit. Suddenly her foot hit something, and she crouched down for a better look. It was a can of some sort and she picked it up. She could just make out 'Paolo Pagani's liquid pizza,' and threw away the object in disgust, wondering how Misato could eat such rubbish, let alone as a midnight snack. She opened the door, exited the room and closed and locked the door behind her. She ran down the stairs and exited the apartment beginning her search for her boyfriend.

She first headed towards Toji's house since it was the closest. She ran along the empty streets, noticing the sun was slowly starting to come up. It was so early not one car drove by and she found the silence quite frightening. It seemed to accentuate her growing feeling of loneliness and helplessness. 'Why did that damn dork have to run off?' She reached Toji's house and rang the doorbell repeatedly making sure to wake the slumbering beast. After a few minutes of waiting she decided she would ring the doorbell again only to have the door answered with a bleary eyed Toji. He looked at Asuka, totally surprised to see her there.

"Come to confess your love to me?" he said jokingly.

"No stooge, I was wondering if Shinji stayed here last night"

"No he didn't and why would you care?"

"He was gone all night and Misato made me look for him." She bit her lip. She hated lying sometimes, it made her sound horrible.

"Well sorry I don't know where he is, you're lucky I'm the only one home or you would have woken everyone up. Good luck in your search anyway, I hope you find our lost brother"

She rolled her eyes at him as he closed the door. She head off to Kensuke's house next. She noticed the morning had gotten lighter and a few people were out walking. Time was passing by and she knew it. Arriving at Kensuke's house she rang the doorbell impatiently. Out came Kensuke instantly, alive and full of energy.

"Asuka?" he said surprised.

"How come you're so full of life?"

"I get up early and I'm just not tired, but why are you here?"

"I'm looking for Shinji did he stay here last night?"

"No he didn't, sorry I have no idea where he is, was he gone all night?"

"Yeah I'm worried something happened"

"I hope you find him see ya" said Kensuke closing the door.

Now Asuka was really worried, he wasn't at either friends house. 'Where the hell could he be?' she thought. She began walking around the streets of Tokyo-3, angry that she hadn't thought of drinking coffee before leaving the apartment. She absent-mindedly walked into the middle of a crossing and stopped to ponder the whereabouts of the third child. An incessant noise interrupted her thoughts as she looked around and took in the sight of a line of cars on both sides of the crossing, drivers alternating between mashing their horns and yelling out insults at her. It would seem people had started to go to work now.

"Shove it up your ass!" Asuka screamed at the motor cars.

The driver in the front of the line seemed to take her comment to heart as he whipped his arm out the window, providing the Unit 02 pilot with a rude gesture. Asuka turned to face the man, her face set into a frightening scowl. He quickly closed his window in fear as she gave her opinion of his driving skills. In a panic he clicked the door lock repeatedly when she furiously asked a question regarding the man's sexuality. Satisfied that the foe had been defeated, Asuka placed her hands on her hips as the insults and honking horns continued. With a sigh she slowly walked off the road, but not before providing the motoring public with a very loud vocal comparison between them and a certain part of the human anatomy. She went back to thinking on Shinji's location.

"Of course!" she said finally realising.

She walked off in the direction of Rei's apartment…

* * *

Shinji and Rei awoke at the same time. The morning sun shone down on them warmly. Rei sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes as she became more aware. Shinji had already gotten off the couch and was stretching his legs. He was used to getting up as he was the one who always made breakfast. Rei smiled slightly as last night she had slept more peacefully than any other night.

"Good morning Shinji" Rei said.

"Good morning" he replied grinning at her.

He walked over and sat on her bed. He looked out the window noticing a few birds flying by. He looked down and saw the morning traffic on the roads. He relaxed comfortably on the bed and turned to face Rei.

"You sleep well Rei?" he asked.

"I slept comfortably" she said.

He looked at his watch suddenly realising that both his roommates would be quite worried.

"Well sorry Rei, but I must go. Asuka and Misato are probably worried sick and I have to get ready for school"

"I understand"

Rei put her arms around Shinji and hugged him. He embraced her back gently as Rei kissed Shinji lightly on the cheek.

"Hey Wondergirl have you seen Shinji? Did he stay here?" said Asuka opening the door to Rei's apartment. She stopped in her tracks, seeing Shinji and Rei. Rei, wearing only her nightgown, was kissing Shinji. She stared at them with her mouth open in shock. Shinji heard her walk in and quickly turned to face her.

"Asuka…" he started.

"Did you keep cumming yesterday because you were so excited about fucking Rei?" she said venomously.

"No, what happened is…" he replied weakly.

"Why didn't you call then? Rei has a phone" she said interrupting.

Shinji suddenly felt stupid but then again Rei hadn't thought of it either.

"I…err forgot…" he said lamely.

"Fuck you Shinji, fuck you. I was so worried about you and it turns out you were here all the time doing…" she choked. She was beginning to cry and so she ran off fast not wanting her pride to be humiliated further in front of Shinji.

"I do not understand Shinji, isn't it normal for brother and sister to show affection?" asked Rei confused.

"Look Rei, I don't have the time to explain and I really have to go now. But don't worry its not your fault" he answered hastily.

He got out of the room quickly, leaving a wide eyed Rei extremely confused in her bed. He ran down the stairs, taking two steps at a time, praying to god he wouldn't trip. He exited the apartment just seeing a flash of red turn into an alley way. He bolted down the street and turned into the alley way after her. He panicked as he ran down the alley noticing many side exits, knowing she could have taken any of them. He was worried he wouldn't be able to find her as she was very fast. He ran through the labyrinth of back alleys and finally emerged onto a main street. He quickly looked both ways for any sign of his girl. He saw a red-headed girl running into a store and he quickly ran over ignoring the traffic as they honked and yelled at him. He entered the store, his eyes searching the shop for red. He saw the girl with her back turned towards him next to the counter and he quickly went up to her grabbing her shoulders and turning her around.

"Hey Asu-" he stopped as he noticed the shocked expression on the girl's face.

"I'm very sorry" he said bowing to her, "I thought you were someone else, forgive me"

The girl just blushed slightly and turned back to the counter embarrassed. Realisation dawned on Shinji as he knew he had lost Asuka. He exited the store kicking a rubbish bin over.

"Shit!" he said angrily. "How could I let this happen?"

Knowing nothing much would be achieved running around Tokyo-3 he ran off to their apartment hoping, praying she went there. The sounds of birds singing filled his ears as the day was starting to begin. The sun shone down on him irritatingly, it felt like the sun was focusing all its rays on his throbbing forehead. Strangers looked on in curiosity as they saw the young boy running down the streets frantically. Sweat was pouring down his brow from the exertion and he moved his hand to wipe it off. Joy filled him as he saw his apartment in the distance, and he sprinted towards it. He turned into the apartment with such speed he nearly slipped and fell over. Entering the elevator he collapsed onto the floor. He entered their floor number and panted heavily as the elevator began its torturous ascent. He screamed at the elevator in outrage for moving so slow, but the elevator made no response and continued on as it had previously. Finally the elevator 'binged,' as it reached his floor and he hurriedly exited the elevator. He found his door, unlocked it and wrenched it open. He hastily searched their place, first looking in the living room, the kitchen, her room and finally his room. The house was completely empty, he couldn't even hear Misato's snoring meaning she probably went to Nerv late at night. He bit his lip in frustration and noticed his mobile phone had been left on his bed. He swiftly picked it up and dialed Asuka's mobile number, after a few seconds he heard ringing coming from Asuka's room and swore loudly. He smashed the phone against the wall, breaking it into tiny pieces. He paced around the room wondering where she would go.

"Hikari!" he said out loud.

Of course Hikari was Asuka's best friend, and she was the class representative. Asuka probably went to school to get some comfort from Hikari, not to mention he had seen Asuka in her school uniform. He hurriedly changed himself into his school uniform. He went to the bathroom and washed the sweat off his face. He returned to Asuka's room just to make sure and saw her phone lying on the floor. He quickly scooped it up, noticing the 'You have 1 missed call' message on the screen. He pocketed her phone and decided he better get moving. Looking at his watch, he saw it was almost time for school. He left his bag, not needing and not caring about it. Exiting the room he pushed the door closed behind him, not bothering to lock it, and made his way down the stairwell.

He felt a horrible pain spreading in his heart as he set off for his destination. He was actually scared of losing her this time and could not bear to live without her. As he ran he collided with some pedestrians, not having the time to say sorry he just continued on. He was getting annoyed as it seemed they were purposely slowing him down. He arrived at the school and the sun's gaze glared down on him pitilessly as he fought his way through his exhaustion and hungriness. He entered the front gates alone, giving him an unusual feeling as he was so used to walking through the gates with Asuka. He wearily went up the stairs and hurried to his class. Upon entering he anxiously looked around the room. He almost broke down and cried as Asuka was nowhere in sight, Hikari was gone as well. He now realised the flaw in his plan, Hikari could have stayed at her house. 'Why didn't I think of that before?' He turned around swiftly and was about to leave the classroom to check Hikari's house, but was stopped by the teacher as he walked in. He had no choice but to stay. He went over to his desk and sat down grudgingly, silently cursing god at his continuous misfortune today.

With the class representative gone another girl got up and shouted "Rise! Bow! Sit!" A message came up on Shinji's computer screen.

_Asuka was looking for you this morning, she came to my house and most likely Toji's too. Guess you're here now. Any idea where she is?_

_Kensuke_

He messaged back.

_Yeah I know, she walked in on me while I was in a precarious situation with Rei and took it the wrong way, I don't know where she is but I'd hazard a guess she's at Hikari's house with Hikari gone._

_I hope you get to her and fix this up._

_Thanks._

_No problem._

Shinji waited restlessly for the bell to go, he couldn't help but fidget as he sit there waiting. He was extremely frustrated at being stuck at school while Asuka was in strife. He looked at the clock noticing it was exactly one minute later than when he last looked at it. He looked around the room impatiently and concentrated on the bell as hard as he could, hoping that by some miracle he could make it ring with his mind. He clenched and unclenched his hand unconsciously, bashing his head against his desk lightly. He silently cursed himself for destroying his phone as he could have called himself with Asuka's phone to fake a Nerv phone call, as that was the only excuse he could get out of class with. He had never been more angry in his life at the teacher, he was usually so calm, but today everything weighed down heavily on him. It seemed like he had passed a whole generation when the bell rang. Sighing with relief he got out of his chair walking out of the classroom, not wanting to cause suspicion or give any reason for the teachers to hold him at school. Instead of turning to walk to the lunch area he went down the corridor to exit the school. As he finally left the building he sped out the front gates and headed towards Hikari's house.

'If she's not at Hikari's house, then at least she'll go to the sync test after school and maybe I can talk to her then' he thought.

Upon arriving at her house he went to her door and rang the doorbell erratically. He heard footsteps as someone walked towards the door. The door opened and he saw Hikari with a puzzled expression on her face as she noticed Shinji.

"What are you doing here its school time now?" she asked.

"I'm looking for Asuka. Is she here?"

"No she isn't" she said lying through her teeth.

Shinji could tell Hikari was protecting Asuka.

"Look its _really_ important, I need to see her"

"She's not here" she said more firmly.

Just then Asuka's mobile phone rang. He was momentarily distracted by it, wondering who would be ringing Asuka now. Then like a wailing death the alarm klaxons came on; an angel was attacking. A flurry of red whizzed past Shinji as Asuka ran out the door and headed straight for school. He had just missed her arm when she passed him.

"Thank you Hikari for taking care of her" he said before running off after her.

He could not catch up to her as she was too fast, but she soon stopped as she arrived at the school. Shinji saw Misato's car parked at the entrance to the school as Asuka entered it. With all the running he did today his throat was particularly dry, the blazing sun didn't help much either. As he neared Misato's car she beeped her honk at him, obviously she wanted him to hurry up, an angel was attacking after all. He noticed Asuka sat in the front and entered the back of the car. He sat down completely worn out, his chest felt heavy and he was wheezing.

"Where were you all night Shinji? You had us worried" said Misato angrily.

"I was at Rei's and it was too late to go back to our apartment" he managed to say.

"Next time take your mobile, so we know" she said annoyed.

Asuka stayed silent, but he could tell she was deeply hurt. Not having any time left to waste Misato quickly drove off beginning one of her usual crazy races to Nerv. Shinji swallowed trying to moisten his parched throat. He sat there wanting to say something to Asuka but he couldn't think of what to say. The near heart attacks caused by Misato's driving were just making things harder, plus he wanted to talk to Asuka alone. He decided it best just to save his strength until they got to Nerv and catch Asuka when she ran off as he knew she would. The car soon arrived at Nerv and Misato stopped the car just before entering the elevator.

"You guys go straight to the changing rooms and then the eva cages when you're changed. It'll be faster this way" Misato said.

With that they both exited Misato's car and Misato drove into the car elevator, beginning her descent. Just as Shinji turned to face Asuka, he saw an empty void replacing the space she had previously occupied. Confused he looked around noticing a retreating figure in the direction of the elevators. 'Well this is what I saved up my strength for' he thought as he sprinted down the hallway as fast as his legs could take him. Amazingly he was gaining ground, but Asuka had been given too much of a head start and entered the elevator, pressing the close door button. He saw the two sides of the elevator closing, Asuka's distressed expression forever imprinted into his mind as he collided at full speed into the elevator doors. His head was pounding excruciatingly, together with the dehydration from today's activities. Shinji got up dazed taking the second elevator as he began his descent down to the changing rooms. He sat alone in the corner nursing his throbbing head.

"God she is so damn stubborn!" he shouted at the ceiling.

The elevator seemed unusually slow today, as it irritatingly ticked with each floor. When he reached his floor, he headed out to the changing rooms as fast as he could. He looked disbelievingly as he saw her already suited up and heading over to the eva cages. He stopped and took a breath. 'How in the world?' he pondered. He entered the changing room, taking out his plug suit from his locker. He stripped off his clothes and hastily dressed into his plug suit. There was no point in running anymore and so he walked the rest of the way to the eva cages. He looked up at his entry plug wearily and got inside. He felt the familiar sensation of nausea as he was inserted into his eva. The tank filled up with LCL, and he fought back the gag reflex as the liquid entered his mouth. A screen appeared with Misato's face.

"The target is suspended above the city currently doing nothing, our best option is to wait and see what it does and see how we can defeat it. Here is a visual of it now"

A giant purple circle came up on the screen, it looked sorta liked the double helix model of the DNA strand. Shinji looked at it in awe as it hovered above the city.

"Asuka's sync ratio has dropped to 58" called out Maya.

"What about Shinji's?" asked Misato.

"Its dropped as well to 56"

"Alright what about Rei?"

"Its higher than usual at 53 but still lower than the others"

No one noticed, but Asuka scowled at hearing that Rei's sync ratio was higher. To her it seemed to prove her suspicions about what had happened.

"Alright Asuka you have the highest sync ratio so you take point, Shinji you go up after her and act as backup"

"Hai" they answered, not in unison.

Asuka entered the catapult and felt the immense lurching sensation as she was launched to the surface. She exited the catapult and took up position to begin observing the angel. No sooner had she done this then the perfect loop broke apart and one end of the angel went straight for her.

"Shinji go now!" Misato shouted.

Shinji entered his catapult, fighting the nausea he felt in his head as he got launched up to the surface. Asuka reacted fast and erected her AT-field but to no avail as the angel penetrated Asuka's AT-field as easily as if it were tissue paper. It began infecting Asuka's eva, massive veins and bulges appearing all over her eva. Terrified Asuka looked down at her body seeing her veins bulge, and screamed out in pain. The angel seemed to push deeper into the eva and she fought it desperately keeping it at a standstill for the moment. Shinji took out a pallet rifle from an armament's building and aimed it at the angel. As soon as he had the perfect shot the other side of the angel shot towards him and broke the rifle into a thousand pieces. Desperate to save Asuka he took out his prog-knife and stabbed the angel causing it to scream and spray blood. Asuka screamed in pain as she felt the angel's pain.

"Not good! The angel is forming a bond physically and mentally with Asuka's eva!" shouted Ritsuko in panic.

Shinji was preoccupied as the other end of the angel began attacking Shinji. Not wanting to meet the same fate as Asuka he held it back with his hand, which began getting infected itself. He saw his hand bulging with veins, he stared in shock as he found himself absolutely helpless. The angel began directly communicating with Asuka's mind. The angel took on the form of Asuka.

"Give up, you cannot win" her other self said cruelly.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am you, the you that exists in other people's minds" she said smirking.

"I am me, you're an imposter" she screamed at the angel.

"Pathetic being"

Despite being annoyed that she was the one that always suffered the angel mind fuck and the hurt she felt this morning when she saw Shinji with Rei, she realised she could not get out of this on her own strength. She did the only thing she could do, knowing that even with what had happened she still loved him.

"Shinji please help me" she pleaded.

"You call for that boy who betrayed you? You truly are pathetic, you deserve to die" said the angel viciously.

"Shinji please save me! Save me like you always do" she said more loudly.

Shinji heard her words and they cut through him like a knife. He knew he could not resolve anything unless this stupid angel went down. Deciding on a course of action he used his knife and cut the angel again, making it let go of him. He quickly used the moment to his advantage to run over to Asuka. The angel quickly moved around to counter-attack. But Shinji was too quick as he leapt up into the air as high as he could and aimed his prog knife down at the angel. As he fell down at phenomenal speed he sliced straight through the angel severing it from Asuka. Asuka screamed in pain and fell unconscious, her eva slumped.

"Shinji good news is, you saved the eva from being infected and weakened the angel" said Misato.

"The bad news?" he said holding his breath.

"Such a severe cut off from the angel may have caused head trauma for Asuka"

"What! That can't be"

"Yes the angel was communicating to her directly through the mind. Ritsuko thinks she'll live however her mental state is questionable. Nonetheless the longer she stays without treatment the worse it could get, now go finish off that angel"

"Oh I will" he said understanding.

"Sync ratio skyrocketing to 203!" said Maya astounded.

"Is he going berserk again?" asked Misato scared, remembering last time he had gone berserk. He had eaten the angel and it had absorbed the S2 engine into the eva. Then Shinji had been gone for three months.

"No it looks like he's in total control this time" Maya said looking up at the view screen.

Misato looked at Shinji and saw something frightening. His face was set into pure rage, he had an evil smirk and his usually blue eyes were almost dark red. His sync ratio was so high that every movement was fluid. Shinji charged at the now sliced ring, the angel saw him coming and instantly prepared for attack. As Shinji approached it, it feinted and Shinji fell for it. It used the opportunity to entangle itself around his neck, squeezing tight. With god-like strength Shinji pulled on the angel and ripped it off. The angel screamed in pain as it was ripped into pieces. Now that the angel's defense was down he focused his AT-field on either side of the angel. The angel was crushed by the AT-field, and with a final sickening CRACK! The angel's core broke and it exploded into the cross-shaped explosion. Out of the fire walked Unit 01 in victory.

"Sync ratio dropping down to 60" said Maya.

Shinji ran to Asuka's eva.

"Eject the entry plug!" he shouted.

"Confirm that! Do as he says!" shouted Misato.

They sent the signal out to the eva. Immediately the entry plug shot out and Shinji caught the capsule.

"Ritsuko get to the hospital as fast as you can, I'm bringing her over there" demanded Shinji.

"Hai" said Ritsuko realising the seriousness of the situation.

He ran with his eva carrying the entry plug, making exceptional progress due to the sheer size of his bounds. He soon arrived at the Nerv hospital and set down the capsule. He exited his eva, making his way down onto the ground where Asuka's capsule lay. He didn't hesitate to open the hatch as he rushed to help Asuka. He looked inside and saw Asuka in her plug suit laying down unconscious in the LCL. He quickly pulled her out and picked her up, carrying her gently. He pressed his hand against her chest and felt it rising up and down, meaning she was still breathing. He rushed inside the hospital carrying Asuka. He sped past the stunned nurses just flashing his Nerv ID card.

"I need help here!" he shouted.

Some nurses and doctors came over hearing the commotion. They took in the sight of the scared brown haired boy holding up the unconscious body of a beautiful red head, both soaked in a yellowy orange liquid. Noticing Shinji's Nerv ID card they swiftly took Asuka into their care. They hurriedly brought her to a suitable room and Shinji followed them, making sure Asuka was okay.

"I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to ask you to stay outside" said one of the doctors turning around as they brought the second child into the room.

"What? Why?" Shinji asked exasperated.

"You might get in the way or distract us. Please this is for her own good" the doctor said compassionately.

"Fine, but you better take damn good care of her" he said.

"We will sir"

Shinji watched closely as the door closed and continued to stare at it. He hoped beyond hope that nothing had happened to her. He was broken out of his staring contest with the door when Ritsuko came rushing in.

"How is she?" she asked concerned.

"I don't know, they're treating her now" he answered.

"Alright I'll go in and help, I will do everything I can to make sure she recovers" said Ritsuko smiling softly at Shinji.

With that Ritsuko went in and shut the door. Shinji felt a little more at ease knowing he had a professional he trusted treating Asuka. Knowing it would probably take a while, he sat down on the bench outside. There was nothing he could do now but wait. He prayed his quick retrieval prevented anything serious happening to her. He soon became very interested in the floor, noticing how pristine clean it was. Nerv maintenance sure was outstanding. He felt a sense of Déjà vu as yet again he was stuck waiting unable to do anything, however he felt much better than he had at school. Misato came rushing in, noticed Shinji and sat down beside him.

"Here I brought you some clothes to change into, I'll stay here and make sure everything's ok. If anything happens I'll know"

"Thanks Misato" he said appreciatively.

He took the offered clothes and walked around the hospital trying to find the nearest toilet. He spotted one soon enough and entered it. As he closed the door he noticed the toilet had a shower as well. He decided to have a quick shower before changing into the new clothes Misato had brought him. He left his plug suit in the toilet as he couldn't be bothered putting it anywhere else, he was sure some Nerv cleaner would come by it and throw it in the trash or something. He walked back to Asuka's room and sat back down next to his guardian.

"Anything happen?" he asked Misato.

"No, and probably not for a while" she answered giving him a quick hug.

Shinji was a little relieved that he could just sit down and rest, as his day had been long and exhausting, besides Asuka was in the next room. He tapped his feet anxiously as he waited together with Misato. Many hours passed by and the two roommates were both beginning to worry. Several times Shinji had got up to open the door and check in on her only to be stopped by Misato holding him back and shaking her head. The redhead was a special person to both of them. Finally Ritsuko walked out of the door her face impassive.

"Well how is she?" asked Shinji eagerly.

"She's fine, we are not sure of the damage though. It seems like nothing is wrong with her physically though thanks to you bringing her here quickly. But we can't be sure about her mental state till she wakes up. I did take some brain scans though and they're very similar to the ones on file. You can go in and see her now" she said cheerfully.

"Thank you Ritsuko" said Shinji with relief.

"No problem, I hope she's okay" she said smiling.

Shinji and Misato both walked impatiently into the room. There they saw Asuka in a hospital gown sleeping in a bed. Her beautiful red hair was spread out over her pillow, giving her the appearance of an angel. Shinji reached over and caressed her face with his hand. She sighed contentedly. He kissed her softly on the forehead, sat down on a nearby chair and held her hand. Asuka's hand gripped his firmly. Suddenly he didn't care about the exhaustion today, the panic he felt and the injury from colliding into the elevator. It was all worth it to see his Asuka safe and sound. He didn't want to wake her up and so instead waited for her to wake up herself.

"She looks so peaceful" Shinji commented aloud.

"A rare sight for her" Misato said laughing.

"I hope she's okay"

"She looks fine, but I hope so too"

Shinji slowly began to daydream as the time passed by…

* * *

He ran through the labyrinth of back alleys and finally emerged onto a main street. He quickly looked both ways for any sign of his girl. He saw a red-headed girl running into a store and he quickly ran over ignoring the traffic as they honked and yelled at him. He entered the store, his eyes searching the shop for red. He saw the girl with her back turned towards him next to the counter and he quickly went up to her grabbing her shoulder and turning her around.

"Hey Asu-" he stopped as he noticed Asuka crying. "I'm sorry, I didn't do anything, I still love you, please don't be upset"

"You jerk" she said taking his hand and tugging him out the store…

* * *

Asuka finally awoke, her hand tugging on Shinji's hand breaking him out of his daydream. At first Shinji didn't notice what had happened, but he felt her hand go slack. He turned to look at her and saw her eyes opening. Shocked at her revival he released his hold on her hand and sat there staring at her.

"Whoa what happened? Why am I here? I feel so weird" said a inebriated Asuka.

Shinji was so elated he picked her up and held her tight. Embracing her as warmly as he could, tears threatened to make their way down his cheek.

"I'm so glad you're okay Asuka" he said sincerely.

She was shocked at first but then relaxed. "I appreciate your show of affection Ikari, I didn't realise how much you miss me," she said sticking her tongue out at him.

He stroked her hair. Her hand pushed his away.

"I have my limits third child"

Shinji looked at her strangely but shook it away. Misato came up and gave them a big bear hug, squeezing them all together.

"Gee did I miss something? I thought you would be happy to be rid of me" said Asuka.

"Don't ever say that" said Shinji now a little worried at how she was acting it was familiar but he couldn't quite place it…

"Is anything wrong at all? I mean you suffered head trauma. Any problems you can feel?"

"Nope I feel absolutely fine, which also means I wanna get out of here" she said getting up.

Shinji went to help her up.

"I don't need your help Ikari"

It was oddly familiar that same tone, that same way she talked…

Then it hit him.

"Asuka what's the last thing you remember?" he asked trying to confirm his suspicions.

"You know, the night after the 12th angel"

It felt as if his heart was cut in two and one side was thrown into the trash. There was nothing wrong with her at all apart from the fact she had lost her memory. But not just any memory, all their confessions and all their lovemaking had been forgotten. That's why she was acting this way. He looked at Misato with anguish on his face. She saw him, understanding immediately that he must be suffering greatly. Asuka noticed Shinji's mood fall and looked at him curiously.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong?" she asked.

"Yes Asuka, it's at least quite a few months from the defeat of the 12th angel. The reason you suffered head trauma is because of our most recent battle against the 16th angel, it seems you've lost your memory" said Shinji.

"16th! How did I forget that much? Well I can't change it now and I wanna get out of here. Any clothes for me to change into?" she asked.

"Yes I brought some for you" said Misato.

Asuka grabbed the clothes and was about to change when she stopped and looked at Shinji. "Do you mind?" she said harshly.

"No" said Shinji immediately having no idea what she was talking about.

She looked at him strangely.

"Let me change you perverted baka"

"Go ahead" it slipped out of his mouth before he even realised what he had said. She slapped him. Hard.

"Get out hentai!" she shouted.

He opened his mouth to say sorry, but bit his tongue knowing she hated that. He walked out of the room and closed the door.

"Shinji sure is acting strange" said Asuka aloud.

"Give him a break, he had a rough time fighting that angel"

"Big crybaby he is, although since when did he become a vertebrate? And for once he didn't say sorry like a pathetic baka"

Misato cringed she had just gotten over her using such insults casually. She suddenly realised some of the pain Shinji was about to go through. 'He better get her in love with him again soon I don't think I can stand her personality fully amplified again' Misato thought smiling to herself. Asuka swiftly changed into her normal clothes.

"Let's go, I can't wait to get out of here" she said eagerly.

They both exited the hospital room and found Shinji there waiting.

"Cmon Shinji lets go" said Asuka tapping him on the shoulder.

"Wait just a moment" said Ritsuko popping into the hallway.

"What?" said Asuka irritated.

"Was there anything wrong with her Shinji?" asked Ritsuko.

"Yeah she's lost her memory" he said sadly.

"Did she forget 'everything'?" Ritsuko asked.

"She can't remember past the 12th angel" he replied. Ritsuko made a pained expression.

"What's going on? What's the big deal? Did something important happen that I can't remember?" asked Asuka getting more irritated. She knew there was something no one was telling her and she didn't like being left out of the loop.

"Shinji come with me" said Ritsuko. Shinji looked back at Asuka as she turned towards Misato and began interrogating her. He sweat dropped slightly at the display and then walked away with Ritsuko. When they were out of ear-shot Ritsuko stopped and turned around.

"She doesn't remember your relationship does she?" she asked.

"No at all" he answered.

"Do you think she would believe us if we told her?"

Shinji sadly shook his head. "She's the Asuka from before, she couldn't even comprehend that happening" he said.

"I'm so sorry, I came as fast as I could" said Ritsuko regretfully.

"Its not your fault" he said reassuringly, "but are you gonna inform the commander of the situation?"

"Probably best that we don't, if he finds out he'll probably do everything to prevent you two getting back together again. Anyway lets get back to the group before they get worried"

"Or Asuka kills Misato" Shinji said attempting humour.

Ritsuko chuckled a little, but Shinji was far too depressed to even manage a slight smile. They both walked back to Misato and Asuka noticing she was shouting angrily at her guardian.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked Misato.

"You've lost your memory it will be annoying getting you up to date" Misato replied impassively.

"There's something more you guys aren't telling me, I need to know" she said whining.

Shinji cringed, 'This will take a while to get used to again,' he thought. Asuka noticed Shinji and the doctor re-join the group, and gave up trying to get information out of the tactical operations director. She would try and squeeze the information out of a much easier prey, Shinji. But she really wanted to get out of the hospital.

"Lets just get outta here at least" said Asuka.

"Yes lets go" said Misato with relief.

All three of them headed to exit the hospital, Ritsuko waved them off and walked down another hallway disappearing from sight. They walked together in silence, none of them could think of what to say to the other. They reached the check out of the hospital and Misato reported the departure of the Unit 02 pilot to the nurse at the counter. When finished she went back over to the group and they exited the hospital. By now it was really dark, the pale moon shone down upon them against the night blue sky. The parking lot was completely deserted save for Misato's sports car parked in the middle. They walked quietly towards the car the only sound heard being their footsteps as their feet hit the ground. A cold breeze blew about them and Asuka shivered slightly. Shinji instinctively put his arm around her to warm her up.

"What are you doing Ikari?" she asked annoyed.

"Errr you were cold" Shinji said just realising what he did.

"I didn't say I was" she said pushing his arm off her.

"I saw you shiver" he said.

"Yeah from your repulsive form" she replied.

He would have laughed had it been a different situation, but it stung him hearing those words. He knew she didn't mean them though, so he took his jumper off and placed it over her.

"I told you I wasn't cold" she said again.

"I _know_ you're cold, this wind is chilly"

"What are you talking about? Baka I am NOT cold" she said defiantly.

"Asuka please stop being so stubborn" he replied growing annoyed at her antics.

She just looked at him shocked.

"What did you do to him Misato?"

Misato laughed.

"Yes the thing is, it was your doing not mine"

"Really what happened?" Asuka asked.

"Let's just say you taught him a really good lesson" Misato replied.

Asuka sighed. "Fine Ikari I'll pretend to be cold and keep your jumper"

Shinji shook his head in disbelief. 'She is some work' he thought. They all got into the car, Shinji sat in front not wanting to give in to temptation. Misato started her engine and drove out of the parking lot. As always Misato drove like a maniac, although not as extreme because it was night time. Still Shinji almost fainted at the near crashes. When they arrived at their apartment Misato parked the car and they got out. Asuka's red hair glowed radiant in the moonlight, giving her the appearance of a celestial spirit. They walked inside the building and took the elevator. He remembered the hurt expression on her face when the elevator closed on him. He was at least happy that she had forgotten _that_. The elevator began its ascent and he couldn't help but look at Asuka, she was still so beautiful. Asuka noticed of course.

"Stop staring at me baka, I know I'm beautiful but you're not worthy of looking at me"

Shinji snorted. "I thought you liked being noticed Asuka" he said mockingly.

Asuka scowled in anger. "Yeah well you're a perverted baka"

It didn't phase him in the least.

"Gee that hasn't been used like a hundred times already, its old Asuka come up with something better"

Misato laughed. Asuka couldn't believe it. She just turned her face away in anger, the 'first' time she had been beaten in an argument with Shinji.

"Next thing you know he can beat me in video games" she thought aloud.

"Nope still can't" said Shinji overhearing.

"Hmpf"

The elevator door opened as it reached their floor and the three roommates exited it. Misato took out her keys and unlocked the door, but found herself unable to open the door. Her brow creased. She put the keys back in and 'locked' the door, finding herself able to open the door now.

"Shinji did you leave the door unlocked?" asked Misato.

"Yeah I was in a rush chasing Asu-" he stopped as he remembered Asuka was in the vicinity. Asuka looked at him with curiosity but decided to leave it alone at the moment, she was too tired. Misato shrugged and entered through the door, the two teens followed suit.

"Home sweet home" said Misato.

"I'm hungry. Shinji make something" ordered Asuka.

"As you wish" he said sarcastically.

He went over to the kitchen and began preparing a late night supper. Despite her losing her memory, he was much relieved at least she wasn't ignoring or running away from him. They needed to go to sleep and he didn't have much energy left so he decided to make a quick meal. Misato walked into the kitchen while he was preparing.

"Look Shinji, I know what you're feeling" she said comfortingly.

Shinji just shook his head and ignored her.

"All I want to say is, this might be a blessing in disguise. You have a second chance, a chance to make things right again, to create this relationship anew with all past things forgotten"

Shinji thought about this, it was true he could start again, though it'd be difficult it might be worth it. He vowed he'd never rape her again, he'd break her barrier another way.

"Thanks Misato, that just might work" he said appreciatively. "But we will have to retell her all that Instrumentality stuff" he said.

"Yeah ok I will tell her when I am able to" she said.

Shinji nodded understanding and Misato returned back to the dining table. Shinji finished making the supper and set it out on the table. Misato excused herself saying she wasn't hungry and went off to bed. Asuka sat down at the dining table and began eating ravenously, she hadn't eaten all day. Shinji also hadn't eaten a single morsel all day and sat down opposite Asuka, eating just as hungrily. The two finished in record time and sat there looking at each other. Asuka wondering how to get information out of Shinji, and Shinji wondering how to get him and Asuka back together.

"So-" they both began and blushed. Both looked away from the other not wanting to be embarrassed.

"You first" they both said at the same time. Asuka realised this was going nowhere and yawned tiredly, due to the lack of sleep and exhaustion she felt.

"Never mind" she said.

"You tired Asuka?" asked Shinji.

She looked at him eyes blinking.

"Yeah a little,"

Obviously more than a little if she willingly admitted it, let alone to Shinji.

"Your muscles must be sore"

Asuka stretched a little. "Yeah I'm a little stiff"

Shinji walked over to Asuka and stood behind her. He placed his hands on her shoulders, noticing how soft they were, and began to massage her. He felt her muscles tense and relax as he released the tension in her muscles. He smiled at the situation, he alone with a half-conscious Asuka in the middle of the night massaging her back. She probably wouldn't even remember this in the morning.

"Mmmm, that's real good please do it harder" requested Asuka.

At that comment Shinji couldn't help but feel a certain activity in his pants. 'Bloody hell, she must be really sleepy to let that slip out of her mouth' Shinji thought. To make matters worse she started moaning, not unlike her moans during sexual stimulation. 'Okay I don't think this was a good idea its just gonna make me more anxious.' He slowly stopped massaging her.

"Why'd you stop? My neck still feels sore so keep going" she said impatiently.

He had no choice but to keep massaging her. His eyes were threatening to close, but he knew it would not be wise to fall asleep on Asuka and used all his will to stay awake. Asuka beat him in the race as he felt her body go limp after a while. The day's activities had caught up with her and she had fallen sound asleep. He stopped his actions and stood there looking at her peaceful form. She was breathing in and out softly and had formed a tender smile on her face. His resolve grew as he admired her splendor. He knew this would take quite some work, and maybe some manipulation but hey he had the commander's blood in him as much as he hated it.

"I guess I better put her in bed, I'm quite exhausted myself" he said to himself.

He carefully picked her up from the chair. She giggled in her sleep as he began carrying her over to her room. He moved slowly not wanting to trip. Luckily for him the door was left open from when he had gone into her room this morning. He entered her room and placed her down gently on the bed. As he turned around to exit her room he slipped on the floor and fell back onto her bed. His head hit the bedpost and together with his fatigue he fell unconscious. Asuka instinctively wrapped her arms around the new heat source. Anyone who came in would have laughed at the sight, there was Shinji laying down on the bed his legs dangling off the edge with Asuka hugging his head. But tonight the two teens would sleep undisturbed…

* * *

Omake:

She turned on the lights, instantly wishing she hadn't as the bright light assaulted her eyes. She felt dazed for a moment as she attempted to adjust her eyes to the agonising light. Finally recovering from her temporary blindness she took out her school uniform from the wardrobe and began dressing up. It took her a full 15 minutes to tie her shoelaces as she felt so…

"Drowsy"

"Yeah that's it I feel so drowsy, hey wait a minute who the hell said that?"

"Drowsy!" the voice repeated.

She looked around finding the source of the noise, it looked like a cross between an aardvark and a hippo. She kicked it angrily out the window, wondering what in god's name it was, instantly she felt much more energetic and she continued to get ready to look for Shinji.

* * *

End Notes: Haha I bet you're all screaming at me: 'How could you make her lose her memory?' But I never said this was going to be a short fic, but this will most likely be the last major plot change in regards to their relationship. You see I kinda had the whole story thought out when I began writing it and it has only deviated slightly from the original storyline, although I'll probably get writer's block soon. Eh I hoped you enjoyed this chapter and as always review please! Oh and sorry about the omake I have a strange sense of humour I know, but I really hate pokemon heh.


	11. Planning and Failing

Author's Notes: Its about time I updated. Ever since I took the break I'm finding it takes me really long to write the chapters. I write like two paragraphs then start doing something else. I've been constantly distracted. Eh anyway here it finally is. Now to answer the question about why Asuka ran away from Rei and Shinji, I think the review was not a sufficient answer. Okay here are the reasons: 1: Asuka is very insecure 2: Shinji's character has changed dramatically and she can no longer read him like an open book 3: She noticed Rei behaving more normal, she went up and hugged and kissed Shinji, creating jealousy and suspicion as to why she was behaving this way 4: She noticed Shinji staring at Rei and begun to grow suspicious of him 5: Shinji leaves in the middle of the night right after they had sex, to go to Rei's apartment 6: If you recall, Shinji told Asuka that Rei loved him, this has been in Asuka's knowledge for a long time 7: When she arrives at Rei's apartment they are in a very precarious position 8: Shinji's vague responses, added to the fact he didn't call her with Rei's phone 9: The final reason is a subtle point but after Shinji and Asuka had a fight, Shinji told her 'I went to that slut Rei's apartment and fucked her,' and the power of suggestion is quite powerful. I'm pretty sure that's enough reason for Asuka to run off. Btw Darknemo thanks again for your reviews, I always feel like I get 10 reviews in one when you post a review. And to the other reviewer who said there was a mistake about having to use Nerv ID, I'm just gonna say Nerv security is quite tight. This chapter is long and fairly uneventful but its just a foundation for what's to happen. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 11: Planning and Failing

The redhead awoke with a most unusual sensation. It felt like she was tightly hugging something warm, she didn't remember snuggling her pillow, in fact she didn't even remember how she got into her bed. Despite it feeling harder than a pillow usually felt she was still tired. Finding it really nice and warm she decided to rest for a little while longer. The morning was quiet today leaving Asuka to ponder her thoughts freely. Something wasn't right in her mind, but she just couldn't seem to grasp it. It suddenly hit her like a sledgehammer; pillows didn't generate heat. She opened her eyes wearily and looked down at what she was holding. To say she was surprised would be an understatement as she looked upon the face of Shinji Ikari. He was snuggled, very tightly too, up against her ample bosom, which had muffled any snoring he might have made. Asuka's face went red with both rage and embarrassment as she instantly released him, quickly retreating to the other side of the bed. She looked at him in disgust as she noticed he was drooling and was not pleased to find her shirt stained with his saliva.

'What the _hell_ is this baka doing in my bed?' she thought.

Despite the mild amusement and curiosity at Shinji's position, that with which half his body wasn't even on the bed, she could _not_ forgive him for this. Shinji rolled over with the sudden shift in Asuka's position, however with his legs dangling off the edge of the bed he found himself unable to roll over and only succeeded in twisting up his legs. Asuka, fearing an advance, kicked Shinji off the bed and he landed in a sprawled heap on the floor.

"What the hell do you think you're doing HENTAI?" she screamed.

Shinji awoke at both the impact and the scream and looked around, rubbing his head. He saw Asuka and looked at her, confusion evident on his face.

"Why are you here?" asked Shinji puzzled.

"I could ask the same question" she said bitterly.

"Isn't this my room…?" he said looking around noticing that it wasn't his room.

"Uh-huh, that's right. It ain't your room. You better have a damn good explanation for this Ikari" she said.

He vaguely remembered the events last night.

"I remember a little, you fell asleep at the table so I carried you into your room and I was so tired I must have fallen asleep too"

"Is that it? You expect me to believe that garbage?"

"Do _you_ even remember how you got into bed? Besides why would I sleep on the floor?"

She moved to stand over him and pointed a finger at him accusingly. "What are you talking about! You weren't sleeping on the floor! Before I kicked you off the bed you were snuggled right up to my-" she stopped suddenly realising what she was saying. She didn't remember how she got into bed, so she suspected someone must have brought her here, she would let it go this time.

"Just get out of my room!" she shouted at him.

Shinji took the hint and stood up to leave, only to find his legs in a tangled mess. He tripped over barging into Asuka as they fell onto the bed together. He looked up only to be greeted by Asuka's hand with a resounding smack.

"Get off me you stupid clumsy oaf!" she screamed into his ear.

He had forgotten how scary she was. "O.k I'm going" he squeaked. He got off her and ran out of the room not wanting to receive anymore abuse.

"Good riddance!" she shouted after him.

As Shinji exited her room, he quickly closed her door behind him. He heard something smash against the door and thanked god he closed the door in time. The young teen headed back to his room and lay down on his bed, still exhausted.

'That could've been worse,' he thought to himself sweat dropping. Now that he was up, he found it difficult to get back to sleep. 'How in the world did I end up in her bed? More importantly she said I wasn't originally on the floor. What could have possibly got her so mad?'

He looked up at his clock noticing it was almost time to get ready for school. The eva pilot really didn't feel like going to school today, he decided he would somehow just skip school. An idea formed in his head, he would tell Misato that he'd use today to get Asuka adjusted again. He would help her accustom herself and perhaps revive a few memories. There was also the issue of the play which he would need to help her practice. It was a brilliant scheme, he got to miss school and it gave him a chance to work out where he stood in his and Asuka's relationship. Content with his plan, he stayed in bed and drifted off into slumber again.

The sound of his door opening interrupted his nap. For a moment he thought he imagined it, but he soon heard the sound of someone moving towards his bed.

"Hey Shinji I know you're tired and all but you have school today" said Misato softly.

He opened his eyes and focused them onto the smiling major. He was pretty confident that Misato would accept his proposal but just to be safe he decided to use a little manipulation.

"I know school's on today, but I'm really tired after all, what with the angel battle yesterday and Asuka in the hospital"

"Weariness is not a good enough excuse to stay home, besides you need to get Asuka re-adjusted to school"

Shinji almost smiled, she had fallen straight into his trap.

"Well actually its probably not a good idea to bring her to school straight away, she doesn't remember anything and it could cause several issues with our class mates"

"But she can't stay home alone" said Misato.

Bam, she had fallen for his second trap.

"That's true, maybe I could stay home with her. I'm sure she's pretty weary after yesterday as well and I could get her re-adjusted to everything before she goes back to school. Plus we also have a play to practice for school. The only other person who could stay home with her would be you, but with the angel attack I'm sure you have a lot of work at Nerv today"

Misato thought about this for a while, he was right on all accounts and it wasn't like he _really_ needed to go to school anyway.

"Alright I guess it couldn't hurt. But I think I sense a hidden agenda" she said winking at him. He chucked a pillow at her face.

"That's not very nice third child" she said mockingly.

He glared at her, turning himself into a stunning image of Asuka.

"I have to go now, so see ya" she said laughing at his face. She walked out of his room sniggering and closed the door. Shinji sat there surprised at his overwhelming success, it had worked like a charm. He suddenly understood the commander a little better. 'At least I learnt _something_ useful from my father.'

He waited in bed until he was sure Misato had left the house. He could hear the morning traffic begin as several cars drove by their apartment. He couldn't help feeling a little ecstatic as today he would get to skip school and spend a whole day alone with Asuka. The young boy got out of bed and decided to make breakfast, after all he needed to make up for this morning's incident. First he went to the bathroom and turned on the hot water to wash his hands and face. His hands ached a bit from the massaging yesterday so he put some heating fluid on to relieve them. Drying himself with a towel he exited the bathroom.

Walking to the kitchen, he looked around seeing Asuka nowhere in sight. She was obviously still in her room and so he placed his apron on and begun preparing breakfast. He whistled softly to himself and occasionally moved his hand away from the stove as bits of oil flew out from the frying pan as he fried some eggs. Shinji silently sniggered to himself as he looked down at his apron noticing the big 'World's Best Housewife.' He knew it was true to an extent and wondered which roommate had bought it. With all the rustle and the smell of food, Asuka got out of bed and strolled into the kitchen curious as to what was happening.

"Smells good Shinji, whatcha making?" she asked.

He turned to face her and she fell on the floor crying her eyes out in laughter. Shinji was momentarily puzzled at her actions until he realised that she must be laughing at his apron.

"Its not that funny Asuka" said Shinji sighing.

"Of course it is! Its so true, our little housewife" she said wiping the tears from her eyes.

"To answer your previous question I'm making fried eggs, bacon and sausages" he said ignoring her.

"Oh finally, some decent European food for once, I was getting sick and tired of a Japanese breakfast"

"Well if you don't mind, this housewife needs to finish making breakfast" he said turning back to the stove.

She snickered quietly and then looked up at the clock noticing it was past school starting time already. "Why haven't we gone to school yet? Or maybe it's the weekend, I have no idea what day it is…" she asked wondering.

"It's Friday today, however Misato said we can have the day off. I'll be getting you re-adjusted and up to date on Tokyo-3, plus there's also a play we have to practice"

"What! I have to spend the whole day with _you_?"

Shinji chuckled softly, this was definitely the Asuka he knew.

"Yes the great Asuka has to spend a whole day with the pathetic perverted housewife Shinji" he said pretending to be mortified.

"Don't mock me third child" she said warningly "but at least I get the day off, school is always SO boring. By the way I'm hungry so hurry with that breakfast you're making" she ordered.

"Yes your highness" he said bowing to her.

She scowled at him but stayed silent, patiently waiting for him to finish breakfast. Shinji risked a glance at the redhead and couldn't help thinking she looked so cute. He quickly returned his concentration to the task at hand. As he finished he placed the food on the table. Asuka couldn't help snatching the food and devouring it like a hungry shark, she really was hungry. Shinji stared at her in amazement but soon turned his attention to his food so he wouldn't be caught staring at her. Asuka was far too involved in eating her beloved European food to notice anything Shinji was doing. Finishing her meal she left the table without a word and went off to her room.

The young girl still felt a little groggy and decided to have a shower. She pulled out some fresh clothes from her wardrobe and walked to the bathroom. Closing the door behind her she swiftly undressed, shivering a little as she felt the cool temperature in the bathroom. The girl hurriedly turned on the hot water and stepped under the shower, enjoying the feeling of warm water running all over her. She began to wash herself not bothering to close the screen.

Shinji had finished his meal and was now sitting down in silence. He was thinking about what he would do today, about how he would re-adjust Asuka. He sighed deciding he would just ask her, she would know. The young boy took his and Asuka's dishes and placed them in the sink. He proceeded to wash them however soon realised that no hot water was coming out of the taps.

'Strange' he thought 'I must have let the hot water running in the bathroom.'

With this he walked to the bathroom door and opened it as it wasn't locked. What he wasn't prepared to see was a very naked Asuka with hot water streaming all over her body. He stood there, staring at her with his mouth open in total shock. Asuka on the other hand was not gaping like an idiot and instead turned to look at him furiously, the temperature in the room suddenly rising, not just from her anger. He quickly looked away, realising his error and fumbled for an apology.

"I errr…um the door was unlocked and well…you see…" he said starting to back away.

The redhead grabbed him before he could escape, pulled him into the bathroom and started pounding her fists into him under the shower.

"I'll teach you to perve on me you freak!" she shouted at him.

Shinji being blinded by the stream of water gushing into his face flailed his arms out in an attempt to defend himself. He tried to grab her arms to get her to stop punching him. The young boy finally grabbed something soft and she stopped moving. Confused at this sudden pause he moved his face out of the way of the torrent of water and saw what he had grabbed. In an attempt to defend himself he had 'accidentally' grabbed her breasts. He instantly let go.

'Oh God I'm in for it now, I can't run this time even if I wanted to' he thought. He closed his eyes, accepting his fate, and waited for the oncoming blow. Nothing happened. He risked a peek and saw Asuka still looming over him. He opened his mouth to say sorry but he knew that would infuriate her more and quickly shut it. It looked as if she was deciding the most cruel punishment she could inflict on him. Finally she just sighed.

"Leave now before I beat the crap out of you" she said menacingly.

"Yes maam" he squeaked obediently.

He gladly turned around to exit the bathroom. 'God she is downright scary sometimes, but that was too easy.'

As if she had sensed his thoughts she brought up her leg and kicked him straight in the balls. Hard. Shinji let out a cry of pain and cringed, before keeling over and falling onto the floor outside the bathroom clutching his crotch.

"Let that be a lesson to you Ikari" she said sneering as she closed the door and locked it this time.

"God damn that _really _hurt," he said aloud "and it wasn't even totally my fault"

Soaking wet he attempted to get up and winced in pain, the ache in his groin would not allow him to get up.

"Looks like I'm gonna be here for a while" he said to himself.

Suddenly he heard the water stop running. He paused to listen and heard a bit of shuffling coming from the bathroom. Out emerged Asuka all too quickly with a towel draped around her, the towel looked familiar. He hurriedly looked away as he realised from her view it looked like he was looking up her legs.

She noticed of course. "Still trying to be a hentai you stupid baka!" she said kicking him in the stomach.

Shinji doubled over in pain. Asuka huffed at him and walked away to her room. He sniggered quietly to himself, 'that stupid bitch didn't realise there was heating fluid on that towel.' He heard a cry of shock come from her room and he burst out laughing. His face soon turned into a terrified one as the redhead poked her angry head out her room and glared straight at him.

"Ikari!" she screamed.

He got up, still in pain though much lessened now, and ran for his life still laughing. His shirt was completely soaked so he stopped to take it off. He swiftly threw the offending garment away and gulped as he saw a flaming whirlwind speeding towards him. 'She sure changed fast' he thought as he began running again. She chased him all over the house, leaving a wail of destruction in her path. Shinji was growing weary but he knew he'd be decimated if he stopped.

"Look Asuka, stop this chasing" he called out desperately.

She halted her chase, Shinji and Asuka on opposite sides of the dining table. She was glaring furiously at him. He noticed her fidgeting constantly, something was irritating her.

"Explain yourself third child" she said hissing in obvious pain.

"What makes you think I had anything to do with it?" he asked trying to sound sincere.

"I heard you laughing Ikari!" she roared, "don't even _think_ about weaseling out of this, I do NOT think this is funny in ANY way"

"But…" he started.

"What did you do?" she demanded.

"Look I didn't mean it, it was an accident you see-" he stammered.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?" she yelled at him.

"I left some heating fluid on the towel you used" he answered quickly.

"Schiesse! Are you crazy Shinji? Do you know where I placed the heating fluid?"

He shook his head slowly.

"The worst possible place! It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happens when heating fluid makes contact with extremely sensitive skin"

"But Asuka, I really didn't mean it, it was a total accident"

"Then why were you laughing?" she asked aggravated.

"Well I thought it was kinda funny, like you received retribution for causing me pain in a similar area. Besides I didn't think you would be so unlucky as to have placed it _there_"

She sighed, pacing around the room. "Do you know how irritating this is? How long do the effects last?"

"Well about an hour or so, you won't have to bear it for much longer"

"Lucky for you" she said bitterly.

"I'll go err finish the dishes" he said running off to the kitchen.

'When I'm in a better condition, I'll make sure he pays' she thought vindictively. Though when she thought about it logically she knew A: Shinji really wasn't a pervert and B: No one, let alone Shinji would have the guts to intentionally walk in on her in a shower or plant a trap on the towel. She decided she would cut _some_ slack, if she found Shinji in the same position she probably would have laughed as well. The annoying feeling persisted and Asuka gritted her teeth, she could last an hour she was strong enough.

The young boy entered the kitchen and proceeded to finish washing the dishes. This time the hot water ran through the taps. Shinji relaxed a little while he was washing, it seemed to relieve the tension. 'This certainly was not a good first impression. Just about everything that could go wrong, happened' he thought sighing.

"And to think it wasn't even my fault that I walked in on her" he said to himself.

"So you're saying that was an accident as well" said Asuka.

Shinji jumped, startled by her voice. He blushed a little embarrassed that she had heard. She moved up behind him and Shinji moved his legs together in fear of another punishment. Asuka smiled slightly, amused at this reaction and flicked him on the head.

"I'd love to hear how you could possibly walk in on me unintentionally" she said sweetly.

He turned around to face her, putting his thoughts into words. "I was gonna wash the dishes only to find no hot water. I went to check the bathroom to see if I left the tap running and the door was unlocked. I opened the door and you hadn't even closed the screen to the shower, so how can you not accept SOME responsibility for this?"

"You should have paid more attention to hear the sound of running water" she countered.

"I thought that was the tap I left running"

"You still should have knocked to see if I was there anyway"

Shinji stopped. He hadn't thought about that, he closed his mouth embarrassed and seemed to shrink back.

"Anymore 'wise comments' from the Great Shinji?" she said mockingly.

He stayed silent.

"Good boy" she said emphatically.

God he just wanted to grab her, pull her clothes off, bang into her and wipe that stupid smug grin off her face. He sighed obviously defeated and returned to his work.

"As compensation, I want you to tell me what you're all hiding from me"

Shinji was ready for this, he knew she would turn her interrogation onto him.

"We are not hiding anything from you, I will tell you everything I can while I'm re-adjusting you"

Asuka sighed, she didn't think a direct approach would work but it was worth a try. As he finished washing the dishes, he wiped his hand clean and turned to face her.

"Speaking of which, I don't really know where to begin. So Asuka what do you want to do?" he asked her.

The young girl sat down on the couch and began to think silently. Shinji sat down next to her and unconsciously he began to idly stroke her hair with his fingers. She was about to rip his arm off, but thought it was strange that he showed her affection. He had done so in the hospital too and she couldn't remember him ever doing it before. 'We must have reached some understanding, I could use this to my advantage. Perhaps all I need to do is prey on every male's weakness to get the information out.' She had no better plan at the moment and so took his other hand to get his attention.

"I'm sorry Shinji" she struggled to say.

"For what?" he asked puzzled.

"For me being a…" she thought for the best word "…bitch, you didn't deserve that"

He chuckled weakly.

"Since when do you apologise?" he asked teasingly.

She glared at him. Shinji gulped.

"I was just joking geez…anyway don't worry about it, you've done worse before so I'm used to it"

"I don't know, you seemed to be in a lot of pain over your crown jewels"

"Well it did hurt a LOT"

Shinji wondered what had gotten into her, one moment she was angry at him, next moment she was apologising to him.

"What's with the change of attitude?" he asked.

"You're the one that has changed. You're no longer stammering that much, and you don't say your stupid sorry and you've grown a spine. You would always accept the blame and responsibility but this time you tried to convince me it wasn't your fault. It is most definitely you who has changed and maybe I should try being a little nicer"

"Uh-huh" he said unconvinced.

"But you'll never get away with perving on me" she said with a smirk on her face.

"Why would I want to perv on you?" Shinji said sticking his tongue out at her.

"Because I have the most beautiful body in all of Tokyo-3" she said proudly.

"You're less attractive than a pregnant hippo" he said laughing.

She scowled at him. 'You just wait you stupid boy'

"Okay Asuka, back to my original question, what do you want to do? The whole point of this day off was to get you re-adjusted" he said.

"Hmm…perhaps we could take a walk around and you can show me any new shops or areas. Maybe we could even go to the movies to see films I missed out on. After that we can practice that play you were talking about"

"O.k great, by the way I don't feel like cooking today so I'll buy lunch and dinner"

"Fine with me"

Asuka got up and decided to have some 'fun', jumping down hard onto his lap making him elicit a yelp.

"Asuka it still hurts there! Get off"

She knew exactly what he meant by 'there.'

"Never!"

Shinji pushed his hands up her shirt, she blushed startled and surprised at the sudden contact of his hands on her bare skin, she was _not_ going to let him go _that_ far. Before she could react he began to tickle her ribs and almost instantly she was having uncontrollable fits of laughter. She feebly protested between breaths.

"Please…stop…I…can't…take…anymore"

He hesitated for a moment but it was enough for her to pounce on him as she began to tickle him and now he was laughing madly.

"Gah…Stop…it…Asuka…" he pleaded.

But she continued on relentlessly. He moved his arms to grab her giving her an opening to tickle him more, he gritted his teeth and tried to push her off of him. She fell back a bit, though holding onto him she pulled him down with her and they landed on the floor with a crash. They lay there, Shinji on top of her, panting for breath. The young boy looked at her noticing how close they were, her breasts were pressing into him and her hands were still on his bare chest from where she had been tickling him and where she had grabbed hold when she fell. Shinji felt his member straighten and hoped to God Asuka did not notice.

"Excited are you Shinji?"

He blushed and scratched his head 'Yep she noticed' he thought.

"Uh…well…"

"You're so perverted" she said pushing him off of her.

Shinji bit back the urge to say 'It's not my fault' and instead got up and offered his hand to help her up. She slapped his offered hand away and stood up herself.

"But at least it proves I'm more attractive than a pregnant hippo, unless things like that turn you on third child" she said winking devilishly.

Shinji blushed furiously. Asuka grinned, she still had it.

"Okay Asuka lets go" he stammered.

The young girl walked to the door to wait for Shinji while he got ready. He removed his pants, as they were still wet and threw them onto his pile of dirty clothes. 'I must remember to do the laundry, I haven't done it for so long' he thought. The eva pilot decided he might as well put all his dirty clothes in the laundry, he could wash them later. As he picked up his clothes something fell on the floor. He hurried to the laundry depositing his load, not wanting Asuka to catch him almost naked, and returned to his room.

The young boy swiftly dressed himself and bent down to pick up the object that fell out of the clothes pile. A small smile formed itself on his face as he looked upon the photo of him and Asuka snuggled up together on the couch. He remembered he had taken the photo just before Asuka ran off. However he had just thrown it into the pile when he changed, wanting to confront Asuka.

'I could use this' he thought.

Shinji placed the photo in his drawer, took his wallet and keys and re-joined Asuka at the door.

"About time" she said as she saw him.

"Just had a few things to take care of" he replied.

Asuka opened the door and exited the room, Shinji followed suit.

"Don't forget to lock the door" she said nonchalantly.

"Says you" he muttered.

They took the elevator down. Both teens waited patiently for the elevator to finish its descent, enjoying the moment of peace between them. The elevator door opened and they exited the apartment. Asuka followed Shinji as he walked off.

The morning sun was beginning its daily journey across the Tokyo-3 skyline, promising another gorgeous sunny day. The pair was oblivious to the sounds of traffic and the hustle and bustle of city life as they worked their way through the maze of sidewalks that would eventually lead them to their final destination. The mall.

"Okay there's only one new shop I remember, it's a clothes store"

He heard Asuka cry out in glee. He rolled his eyes and began to express in words today's plan.

"We'll go there first then we'll take a walk to the park so you can see how the city looks now. By then it'll be lunch time so we'll have lunch, then we can watch a movie which you can choose and after that we can go home. At the apartment we can start practicing the play and have dinner whenever we feel hungry. What do you think?"

"Sounds great"

Shinji continued leading the way to the new store. Darting about in the clear blue skies, small birds sang songs of love as they searched for a mate. Of course humans were much more complex than common birds. The two eva pilots soon arrived at the new store.

"Here it is" Shinji announced.

"I'll give you the privilege of helping me pick my dresses"

And so it began. She would pick out a dress, go into the changing room and present herself to Shinji for his opinion. He blushed a few times at some of the outfits she chose, he had a feeling she was up to something. Eventually she had chosen what she wanted and he was forced to buy them for her, Asuka claiming it was a fair deal for allowing him to shop with her. Shinji was sure he was being cheated but didn't argue nonetheless. They exited the shop, Asuka bouncing up and down in joy and Shinji carrying the bags of course.

"I'll let you lead this time to see if you remember the way to the park" he said to her.

Asuka nodded and began to lead the way. Despite making a few wrong turns here and there they eventually wound up at the park. Asuka had looked around on the way, noticing many changes, new shops, new buildings and new terrain, probably caused by the evas. The two teens found a park bench under the shade of a tree and sat down together. The pain in Asuka's nether region was long gone. Shinji talked with her over the details of the city and how it had changed. He answered her questions, making sure to update her on all possible events, even school ones. He told her the date, the current weather, and described each angel battle as he could remember it. Of course he didn't tell her about what was said in the battle against the 15th angel, he just said that she was too strong for the angel and overpowered it.

"Anyway I've told you everything I can think of so you shouldn't have much trouble getting accustomed now"

Asuka's stomach grumbled loudly and she blushed.

"Look's like it time to eat" said Shinji smiling.

"Yes lets"

Shinji led the way to a little ramen store and they sat down at a table. Shinji swiftly bought both of them a meal and brought it over to their table. They began to eat silently, Shinji made sure to avoid her gaze as he did not want to be caught 'staring' at her. Asuka on the other hand was studying him intently 'he actually looks kinda cute' she thought and quickly destroyed that idea 'What the hell am I thinking? He's nothing but a wimpy perverted baka'

'Then why are you watching him?' her inner voice asked her.

'Because he's acting so different then before'

'Maybe its because you-'

'No I DO NOT!' she mentally screamed.

She nearly jumped out of her seat when Shinji addressed her.

"You ok Asuka?" he asked concerned.

"Yeah I'm fine" she said continuing her meal.

Soon they had both finished their food and got up to leave. The two teens left the store and headed in the direction of the cinema. The sun was shining brightly overhead, they guessed it was a little past midday. Despite the heat a gentle cool breeze blew about them, relieving them of the hot weather. A few empathetic glances were cast at Shinji as they walked by mainly from males as they saw him carrying the shopping bags. Upon entering the cinema, they walked around finding movie posters, contemplating what they would watch.

"What movie do you want to see Asuka?" asked Shinji wearily on their third pass of the cinema.

"None of them seem to be anything interesting…" she paused looking up at a poster she hadn't seen before "hey what's that 'Angel's and Eva's'?"

"I haven't seen it but I heard it's meant to portray the eva pilots, our, situation" replied Shinji.

"Well lets see it, I wonder if they got the facts right" she said.

They moved over to the ticket office and Shinji placed the bags on the floor. He asked for some tickets to the movie. The ticket seller looked at them recognising them and he laughed.

"Well what do you know. The real eva pilots coming to watch this film" the man said.

"Sshhh" said Shinji.

"We don't want people crowding us" said Asuka.

"Ok ok I understand, enjoy your movie. Oh by the way, leave those bags in the storage just here and don't worry its safe"

Shinji thanked the man and placed the shopping bags into the storage, grateful for finally being relieved of the burden. The young boy examined his ticket, the movie started in a couple of minutes at cinema 5. The two eva pilots made their way to cinema 5, not bothering with snacks. As they entered the cinema they looked around for some seats and spotted a few spare seats near the back. They quietly sat down and waited for the movie to begin. During the advertisements, both teens made a mental note not to bring Misato to the cinema as they advertised the new re-hydrate-able pasta, now with meat balls. As they overcame their nausea the movie finally started the title showing up saying 'Angel's and Eva's the life of the pilots.'

It began with a red haired girl, looking similar to Asuka, walking down the streets of Tokyo-3 with a brown haired boy looking like Shinji.

"Hey baka lets check out this new apartment we're staying at" said the movie Asuka.

"Ok I'm sorry for troubling you, I'm sorry for breathing, I'm sorry for being in your way, I'm sorry for existing" the movie Shinji said practically groveling.

Shinji's brow furrowed, while Asuka silently laughed. "They really got the facts right" she whispered.

In the movie they arrived at the apartment and attempted to open the door. It was near impossible as the two movie eva pilots struggled with all their might to open the door. It finally gave way and inside was an absolute mess, mountains of rubbish were piled up to the ceiling, moving around was impossible unless you wanted to step knee deep into left over wrappers and beer cans. The movie Asuka gasped in shock, taking the trash can and dumping it onto the floor actually improving its condition.

"What the hell is all this mess?" the movie Asuka screamed.

A purple haired woman walked in looking like Misato, she was wearing practically nothing. Both the real eva pilots sniggered at Misato and the messy apartment. Despite being a little exaggerated they knew it wasn't far from the truth.

"I can't be bothered cleaning" said the movie Misato shrugging.

She grabbed 10 packs of beer and gulped them down, throwing the empty cans on the floor. Immediately Shinji began cleaning up the place with Asuka following him around with a whip making sure he did his job well. Meanwhile the movie Misato just sat around drinking and eating. The two real eva pilots watched in awe as she shoveled heaping mounds of noodles into her gaping maw...never pausing to take a breath. Then all of a sudden their mobiles rang and the movie Shinji screamed like a girl.

"Mustn't run away, mustn't run away" he started chanting jumping out the window.

The real Asuka could not hold in her laughter. The real Shinji sweat dropped, they seemed to be picking on him a lot.

Back in the movie Misato took the two teens into her car and drove like a maniac to Nerv making her pull off impossible moves though it was almost exactly similar to how she actually drove. When they arrived at Nerv they entered and met a blue haired girl who looked like Rei.

"I am Rei, I am an emotionless doll, I'll do anything I'm ordered to, please kill me I can be replaced"

"Shutup you freak" said Asuka breaking her neck.

Almost instantaneously another Rei popped up.

"I am Rei, I am an emotionless doll, I'll do anything I'm ordered to, please kill me I can be replaced"

"Ridiculous we don't have time for this" said Asuka irritatingly.

They three pilots rushed off down to the eva cages and quickly got ready for battle.

"Waiting for strategy from Operations director Misato" said the movie Ritsuko.

"Just kill the damn thing" Misato said gulping down some beer.

They got launched up and started to fight the angel, it seemed that while the evas were fighting they managed to destroy absolutely every building in the city. The two real eva pilots decided they might consider suing the producer of this movie, he was very obviously anti-eva. Though they were curious as to where he got his information from. The angel was defeated and the movie continued. They sat there and watched the whole movie. At times it was extremely funny at other times they took it too far. Asuka almost choked when they showed her wearing a tight leather costume playing dominatrix with Shinji, the real Shinji collapsed to the floor from blood loss. Asuka soon joined him on the floor when Rei joined the picture. The movie ended and the two eva pilots walked out of the cinema completely bewildered.

"Well that was certainly interesting, but we are NEVER watching it again" said Asuka shuddering.

"I think they exaggerated my character way too much"

"Oh?" she said cheekily "I thought they did that part perfectly"

"I thought they did Misato pretty well" Shinji said quickly changing the subject.

Asuka laughed. "No doubt about it"

"I think that movie should be taken up with the commander, there must be a leak in Nerv, and I certainly don't think the rating PG is a proper classification"

Asuka nodded her head in agreement and they returned to the ticket seller to retrieve their shopping bags. The man kindly asked how the movie was only to cower in fear as Asuka threatened to destroy the cinema with her eva in the next angel attack. Shinji took their bags and pulled Asuka away before the man would suffer permanent hearing loss from her screaming. The two eva pilots began their return journey to their apartment laughing and discussing the movie until they had arrived. Shinji felt much better, here he was finally having a proper discussion with Asuka. Taking the elevator he slowly tuned her voice out and just looked at her as she continued talking to him. There was a sparkle in her eyes as she did her favourite pastime, complaining. He couldn't help thinking she was so gorgeous, the way she would put her hair back as it moved in front of her face, the smug superior face she had on, damn she was cute. She waved her hand in front of his face.

"You there Shinji?" she asked him noticing he had spaced out.

"Yeah, I errr just…ah never mind"

The two teens entered their place, closing the door behind them. Asuka sat down on the couch, while Shinji placed the bags outside Asuka's room and chucked his wallet and keys into his room. He went to the kitchen pouring himself a drink as he had been carrying those bags all day with the blazing sun. The young boy entered the living room where Asuka was laying down on the couch and she looked up at him lazily.

"You wanna start practicing the play?" he asked her.

"Ah might as well, we don't really have anything else to do" she said getting up.

Shinji took out their two copies of the play and handed one to Asuka. He re-read his lines just in case, but he pretty much knew them off by heart. Asuka however was studying intently.

"Its strange, it definitely feels like I've read this before, and I'm finishing statements in my head before I read them. I'm remembering whole chunks of the play" she commented aloud.

"That's great, glad to see your memory is improving" he said sincerely.

Asuka was reading the part about the bandit fight in the night and blushed as an image of her and Shinji kissing deeply popped into her head. 'What the hell?' She shook her head in puzzlement and continued reading.

"Wait a second did I read this wrong? It says here I have to kiss you" she asked confused.

"No its true you have to" he confirmed.

"What? I'm not kissing you! I remember the last time and I had to clean my mouth out!" she shouted.

"You did it at our practice before and you had a problem back then but you got over it"

She suddenly understood why she saw Shinji and her kissing in her mind. "I think I might talk to the teacher about this but lets start practicing already, I think I can say my lines now up to that point"

And so the two eva pilots began practicing the play together, saying their lines and doing a few enactments. Amazingly Asuka only stumbled a few times, and they got through the beginning of the play with amazing progress. They soon came up to the kiss and Asuka blatantly refused to go along with it.

"Cmon Asuka we did it before, its not that big a deal"

"It certainly is a big deal, what if the main character was Kensuke. I would rather combust into flames then kiss him, the school shouldn't enforce something so stupid"

Shinji sighed he knew what buttons to press.

"Well looks like the Great Asuka is afraid of kissing a little boy like me"

He got just the reaction he wanted.

"Oh fine I'll do the stupid kiss!" she said defending her pride.

He moved next to her and moved his face towards hers, then she pulled away.

"Asuka we have to get this right. If we can't do it here, how can we do it in public?"

Asuka sighed defeated and nodded. 'Well I might as well use this opportunity to initiate my plan, all that acting nice today was so urghh and its not going to be all for naught. He will tell me everything'

He once again moved his face towards her and kissed her softly on the lips. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer deepening the kiss. He didn't realise how much he'd missed kissing her. Asuka tried her best to show the boy what she could do, finding it extremely difficult with the power of his kiss. He parted realising he was dragging it out a little too long. Asuka blushed and looked at him questioningly. Her heart was racing and she had butterflies in her stomach, 'God where did he learn to kiss like that?' she thought.

"W-we should keep practicing" said Asuka stammering. 'What's wrong with me? I never stammer!' she thought.

"Want to try it again Asuka, so you get used to it?" Shinji asked innocently. She was astounded, no blush, no stammer it hadn't phased him in the least. 'What is with this baka? How could it not have affected him?'

"Yes" she said deciding to give it another go.

This time she took the initiative and kissed him, Shinji once again deepened the kiss and this time Asuka wrapped her arms around him as well. Shinji fought back the urge to slip in his tongue. They parted and Asuka turned her face away in embarrassment, her face was flushed and she felt a familiar slickness between her legs. She might have forgotten what happened but her body had not. When Shinji kissed her, her body responded to it.

'I don't believe this I am getting aroused from kissing Shinji.' Asuka looked at Shinji, who was looking at her slightly confused. 'And this baka did it so casually, what's wrong with me? Screw that, what the hell is wrong with him? This plan is completely backfiring, I need to abort now'

"Asuka your face looks a bit flushed are you ok?" he asked concerned.

Asuka thanked god Shinji really was a baka, he only thought that she might be feeling a little under the weather and did not suspect anything else.

"I'm fine" she said getting up and looking away from him, attempting to calm down her body.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah just leave me alone" she said.

"But Asuka-"

"Just fuck off!" she shouted at him furiously. Shinji just looked at her in shock as she went to her room, grabbed the shopping bags and slammed the door behind her.

'She really is so stubborn sometimes' Shinji thought.

Asuka lay down on her bed contemplating the best course of action. 'Ok being nice and seducing him does not work, I guess I'll have to bring Asuka's reign of terror back into place. Fear might work better at getting the information out of him.' She involuntarily moved her hand down to her panties. She didn't realise until she felt something damp, 'Schiesse what am I doing? How can I be this wet?' She pondered whether she should relieve herself or not. She could feel her sexual frustration and couldn't understand why is was so strong, but on the other hand Shinji was right outside.

The young girl decided on an action, knowing she would not be able to think clearly with Shinji in her current state. She hesitantly began moving her finger up and down her slit, gasping at the pleasure. Asuka bit her lip knowing it would not be good to be discovered and stayed silent. She slowly slipped her finger in, still wondering how she had convinced herself to do this. She hastily began to move it in and out, while also stimulating her clit with her thumb. The young girl pleasured herself but it wasn't good enough she needed some arousing thoughts.

Asuka desperately tried to think of Kaji naked or something but it wouldn't work. Reluctantly she began to think about Shinji doing the most dirty things imaginable which for some reason easily popped into her head. Little did she know they were actually her memories.

'I can't believe I'm fantasizing about Shinji to get myself off, and that its actually working.'

She bit down on her tongue hard as she climaxed, she would _not_ cry out for Shinji. Despite feeling a little dirty at what she had just done, she certainly felt much better than before. She removed her soaked panties and put on fresh ones. Asuka recomposed herself and exited her room. The young girl walked back to the living room finding Shinji reading over his lines. She very quickly dismissed the thought of inviting Shinji to bed with her. 'Cmon Asuka, you are always in control, do not let this stupid slip of a boy get to you!'

"Shinji I am hungry now, lets go have dinner" she ordered.

Shinji looked up at her with a puzzled look, he honestly could not understand her.

"You feeling better now?" he asked.

"I was always feeling fine, now get up before I kick you out the door!"

"Asuka-"

"You are this close to becoming the next Japanese astronaut, we are going now!"

He got up knowing he could not argue with a hungry Asuka. 'Good' Asuka thought 'He still recognises my authority'

Shinji hastily went to his room to grab his wallet and keys. He looked through his wallet with a little despair, his money was depleting rapidly. He returned to the living room to find Asuka waiting at the door. He soon joined her and they exited the room and locked the door behind them.

"Alright Asuka follow me I know a great place where we can eat"

"Yeah right, your idea of great food is that Japanese rubbish I'm already sick of eating"

"You'll see" he said simply.

She curiously wondered where they would eat. Asuka followed Shinji out of the apartment and through the streets of Tokyo-3. The cool fresh air had a pleasant effect on Asuka and she relaxed a bit. They quietly walked along, enjoying the calm atmosphere. Shinji stopped in front of a building and Asuka looked up at the sign. She read 'Bistro de Europa,' and couldn't help smiling a little.

"Well Shinji I certainly didn't expect this, but isn't this a bit too expensive" she said.

"I can afford it, besides you need something to cheer you up from all the stress of today, what with the re-adjusting and all"

'You wouldn't believe' she thought.

"I couldn't imagine how hard it is to deal with such a big memory loss and waking up finding everything so different" he continued.

"Not at all! I am the Great Souyru Asuka Langley, I can do anything" she said proudly.

They both entered the restaurant and found a table to sit down on. Shinji took two menus from the counter and sat back down at the table. They looked around the restaurant admiring the splendor. They had many paintings on the walls, many of which Asuka recognised. The windows were draped with lush red curtains and the tables and seats were elegantly crafted. Not many people were in the restaurant tonight, which was good because Asuka was not in the mood for a crowd at the moment.

"Ok Asuka tell me what you want and I'll order it for you" Shinji said to her.

She quickly scanned the menu, not being able to decide on what to eat. There was so much European food and she hadn't eaten it for so long it was hard to choose a meal. Asuka decided upon having a chicken schnitzel and roast potatoes and told Shinji her choice. A waiter came over to their table with a pen and paper, his expression a little stuck up. He had a curly black moustache and he spoke with a heavy foreign accent.

"Make I take your order please" said the waiter.

"Yes I would like the cream and mushroom steak, rare please, and this lady would like the chicken schnitzel with roast potatoes" said Shinji.

"Very good, would you like any drinks?" the waiter asked.

"Water will be fine" Shinji replied.

The waiter walked away to give their order in.

"You know Asuka, if there's something wrong, you can tell me" said Shinji.

"How corny was that? Leave me alone you stupid baka, if I need your concern I'll ask for it" she snapped.

Shinji opened his mouth to say something but just sighed instead, dismissing it as her usual antics.

"If you've got something to say, just say it" she hissed.

"Says you, I don't understand why you can't just tell me what's wrong"

"Read my lips Shinji: No-thing-is-wrong. Would you just shutup already" she said growing irritated at his constant badgering.

Shinji stopped, he would have no success today, for some reason she had suddenly stopped being open to him. A sense of relief came over her as she noticed Shinji had given up. 'About fucking time, any more and I would have punched his face in.'

They both sat in silence, patiently waiting for the food to be prepared. It didn't take long for the waiter to arrive at their table with their meal. He swiftly placed the food on their table and hurried off for the next order. Asuka dug in quickly taking her mind off the situation and just being glad to finally eat real food. She grinned as she ate the potatoes, such a nice change to all the rice she had been eating. Shinji smiled as he saw her eat her food happily and dug into his own food.

The two eva pilots finished their meals quickly and Asuka let out a content sigh, her stomach filled up nicely. Shinji paid for the bill and they exited the restaurant. Both of them were full and so they decided to walk a little to burn off some of the food. Shinji took them up to the cliff that overlooked all of Tokyo-3. The sun had set as it had gotten late and the scene looked beautiful in the dark night.

"So Asuka, have you re-adjusted fine?" Shinji asked randomly.

"Yeah I'm good" she replied.

"We should get back home" he said.

Asuka just nodded in affirmative. The two teens made their way back along the streets of Tokyo-3 to their apartment. Both were weary of the day's activities, they had practically gone all over the whole city. When they arrived at their apartment they took the elevator, both too exhausted to walk up the stairs. They entered their place and were greeted warmly by Misato.

"You guys have fun today?" she asked.

"Yeah" they said in unison.

Misato for once didn't notice it.

"That's good, I hope you appreciate what Shinji did. He took the day off school to re-adjust you Asuka" said Misato.

"Because missing school is so hard" Asuka said sarcastically.

"Anyway guys its late you should go to bed, I'm quite sleepy myself" said Misato.

They both nodded and went to their respective rooms. Misato switched off the lights and went to bed herself. The two teens lay in their beds thinking about today. Both their plans had failed miserably. Asuka didn't manage to squeeze out one bit of information from Shinji and her plan even backfired. Shinji wasn't anywhere closer to Asuka then the start of the day. He had tried so many things, taking her shopping, taking her to the movies, to dinner, being nice to her but to no avail. The two eva pilots both sighed and went to sleep deciding that tomorrow was another day…

* * *

End Notes: Just so you know Asuka in this chapter is acting strangely sometimes for the obvious reason of not knowing anything. Shinji has changed without her knowing or getting used to it and he has a major advantage against her and she is finding it difficult to fight him especially since he has more courage and confidence. Also for those of you wondering, heating fluid is a substance used to relieve muscle aches. It warms up the skin but it can cause discomfort or pain on sensitive skin like a female's private region.


	12. Asuka's Counterattack

Author's Notes: Man this took so long to get ready, I think it's been two weeks since the last update, but I had a slight problem. First off I was being lazy, as it's getting more annoying to write this story. But then unbelievably my hardrive died. Damn I was annoyed, had to buy a new hardrive and reinstall Windows XP, which was a pain in the bum. For some reason the CD didn't have the drivers to read from the hardrive so I had to connect it so that the CD drive and hardrive where connected to the same IDE controller and the hardrive had to be master which was extremely difficult to do because of the damn ribbon cables arrgh. Anyway for those of you who are computer illiterate it took long to set it up so that I could install my operating system. Yeah reinstalling programs, transferring files takes long and eventually I finished and yeah I finished this damn chapter.

On another note while the hardrive was dead I killed the 50 million health boss called Yiazmat in Final Fantasy 12. Before you say anything I will say the damage cap is 9999 and because square enix wanted him to take even longer at half health the damage cap becomes 6999. Took me about 4 and a half hours to down him, now it took me 45 minutes to kill penance in Final Fantasy 10, so yeah I'm telling you this guy was a bitch. And what's even better for killing him you get the ultimate sword, but guess what you already killed the hardest boss in the game so its fucken useless. I hope in future Final Fantasy's this does not happen again, a 4 and a half hour boss only proves patience and the ability to stay sane.

As for the review saying I had read Re-take, I will say right now I had not I didn't take any ideas from it. However I was curious about it so I asked where I could download it. Despite the questionable site he told me to get it from (where my eyes almost burnt out from the amount of graphic hentai , thank god he told me it three quarters down the page), I decided to give it a chance. It was a surprisingly good manga, and whenever any err 'scenes' came on I just skipped a few pages, thankfully they did not occur very often. Who woulda thought some doujin aren't just smut. I could see the similarities between the manga and my story but I could also see it was vastly different in the way it occurred. If anyone wants to read it give me a private message because I do not want to link a hentai site here. Anyways enjoy the chapter.

I'm making a note here this chapter is not what I originally posted, due to the realisation of an error thanks kindly to my reviewer AsukaIkari I have changed 'El amor es para siempre' to 'Semper Amemus' as it was not latin, a mistake on my part.

* * *

Chapter 12: Asuka's Counterattack

_She was walking along the streets of Tokyo-3 early in the morning. Early enough that school hadn't started but late enough that people were driving their cars to work. The redhead looked up at the old rundown building, wondering how anyone could live here, but then this was Rei she was talking about. The young girl sighed frustrated, if he wasn't here she wouldn't know where else to look. She began to walk up the stairs calling out his name. There was no response as she continued to climb the stairs to her destination. She decided to call his name out a bit louder…_

"SHINJI!" Asuka shouted as she woke up.

The young teen looked around in confusion slowly realising she was back in her room. The morning light was shining through her blinds and she was sitting up in her bed, her hand clutching her head. 'Just a dream? Or something else? It felt familiar…' However the redhead's thoughts were interrupted as her door opened and in came the young pilot of Unit 01.

"What do you want Asuka?" he asked a little puzzled.

'Shit did I scream that out loud?'

Asuka looked at him blankly as he stood there patiently waiting. She had to say something quick before she looked like an idiot, calling him to her room for no reason was just stupid and she knew Shinji would start thinking something perverted.

"Make me breakfast in bed" was the first thing that came up in her mind.

He arched an eyebrow at her.

"Well?" she asked irritated.

"Fine Asuka" he said as he walked out.

The young girl fell back onto her bed and sighed out in relief. She turned on her side to look around the room while she waited. The redhead noticed the huge pile of dirty clothes near her bed. She had noticed that it seemed Shinji hadn't done the laundry for a while. She was going to run out of clothes soon if he didn't wash them and so she decided to take her dirty clothes to the laundry herself. Upon picking up her pile of clothes something fell to the floor. The redhead sighed and dropped the bundle of garments to pick up the object. It was a piece of paper and she looked at it closely to examine it.

This certificate of good community service is presented to:

Souyru Asuka Langley

_Signed: Tamako Yuji Principle of Tokyo-3 high school_

'Community service? What a load of crock, I've never done something for another person, well not really anyway'

Asuka was standing up as well as Shinji in the middle of class.

"_I'd like to give a special thanks to you miss, its not everyday people do things like that for other people" said the principal. _

"_I accept your gratitude" _

"_Now I'd like to give you something for your efforts" _

_He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Asuka. She examined it. It was a certificate for good community service._

"_Now I very rarely give those out, only when a student does something special. This is a very special certificate, when applying for a job or something people will recognise this and your chances of getting employed are much higher"_

"_I thank you very much" said Asuka._

She shook her head slightly as she returned from her short flashback. The young girl could see that she had been given it by the principal however she couldn't remember what for. 'I'll ask Shinji about this' she thought as she placed the slip of paper on her desk. Asuka got back into bed deciding she would take her clothes to the laundry another time as Shinji was probably almost finished making breakfast for her. The young girl lay idly under her covers pondering what she could have possibly forgotten, it seemed a lot had happened in the couple of months that she couldn't remember.

'Well regardless, Shinji definitely knows something and today I will initiate Plan B'

Shinji came back into her room holding a tray laden with food and set it down in front of her to eat. 'Well he really made it, I've got to use my authority over him to my advantage.' She quickly began filling her empty stomach. Shinji just watched her in amazement, wondering how she could eat so fast, her hands were moving faster than the eyes could see.

"What are you still doing here?" Asuka asked him through mouthfuls of food.

"Well seeing as you couldn't be bothered to get out of bed to have breakfast I figured you wouldn't take your empty tray back to the kitchen either" he said slightly annoyed.

"If you're just gonna stand there make yourself useful and take my dirty clothes to the laundry" she said smirking.

"Anything else your highness?" he asked sarcastically.

"Not at the moment so hop to it"

The young boy walked over to the huge pile of dirty clothing and picked it up. He exited Asuka's room carrying his hoard as he headed to the laundry. As Shinji entered the laundry he dumped her clothes onto the now bigger pile of clothing to be washed. He sighed and then turned around to return to Asuka's room. He found the redhead just finishing her meal as he arrived at her room.

"Oh just in time, here you go third child" she said handing the now empty tray to the boy.

He took it grudgingly and turned around to exit her room.

"Come back when you've placed it in the sink, I need to ask you something Ikari" she said as he walked out of her room.

Shinji went to the kitchen and placed the tray in the sink. All was silent except for the occasional snore that came from Misato's room. The morning rays had begun to warm up the apartment as Shinji stood there idly. He quietly thought about this morning, he had gotten up early and began to start preparing breakfast when he heard Asuka shout out his name. It was strange though, he couldn't recall Asuka ever calling him to her room just to make her breakfast in bed. But then again Asuka was always unpredictable. The eva pilot decided he should return to her room to see what she wanted of him.

Shinji entered her room to find her waiting for him with her arms folded across her chest. Asuka looked up at him when he entered her room and pointed to her desk.

"See that slip of paper on my desk, I found it this morning. I want you to tell me how in the hell I received it"

Curiously Shinji moved over to her desk to pick up the slip of paper and examine it. He recognised it soon enough as the certificate she was given after having saved him from drowning in the pool. He had forgotten about that incident and so hadn't brought it up with Asuka yesterday. The young boy decided he might as well tell her, she could easily find out at school anyway.

"Well you were given that by the principal after you saved my life"

"I saved your pitiful life? What possibly could little boy Shinji have gotten himself into that required my help?"

"Well we had swimming lessons, and I was pushed into the deep end and began to start drowning as I couldn't swim"

"Trust you. But why would _I_ dive in to save you, there were other people around weren't there?"

"Well yes, but everyone except you thought I was faking it so you did the honourable thing and jumped in to pull me out"

Shinji decided to leave out the details that she had practically stripped to save him and that she had done mouth to mouth resuscitation because he wasn't breathing.

"Still diving into a pool when we are having swimming lessons isn't hard even if it is to pull someone up to the surface, I mean if we were already in our swimming costumes it would be easy. So how is that worthy of community service?"

"…"

"There's something you're not telling me Shinji, don't make me pound the crap out of you" she said raising her fist menacingly.

"Umm well really you saved my life after all, so it is worth-"

"Third child! I don't want any bullshit, I swear I'll make sure you won't be able to have children if you don't tell me what you're hiding"

"Ok fine I'll tell you. The problem was that we both had our school uniforms on, we weren't in our costumes. I was too heavy for you to pull up with your uniform as well so you stripped off all your clothes except your underwear of course in front of the whole class and jumped in to save me"

"WHAT!"

"You didn't hear what I said?" he asked confused.

"No I just don't believe it. There's no way I'd do that to save your sorry ass! Maybe, and that's a BIG maybe, if there was no one else I would, but in front of the whole class?"

The situation was quickly getting out of hand so he lied. "Well you said that you weren't gonna let me die on you when you still needed someone to prove their skill in eva piloting to, especially because Rei wasn't anything to compare against. You also said that we were even now since I saved you in the volcano and that I was lucky that Souryu Asuka Langley never keeps anyone in debt otherwise you wouldn't have done it"

'Wow' he thought 'That actually sounded genuine and plausible'

Asuka nodded slightly. "Hmm that makes sense, I guess you must have caught me in a good mood. Still I hope none of those perverted boys took pictures or anything, man that must have been embarrassing and just to save _you_. What happened to me in all this time honestly"

Shinji hid his sigh of relief.

"So Asuka you need anything else?" he asked trying to change the subject.

"No nothing, you can go now" she said dismissing him with her hand.

The brown-haired boy walked out of her room closing the door behind him. Asuka was delighted she had been successful in obtaining some information from him. It proved that first of all he still obeyed her and second that she could pressure information out of him that he was hiding. 'With a little work I can find out what everyone is keeping from me, after all no one can stand up to the Great Souryu Asuka Langley. I guess this means plan B is working for the moment.' Content for the moment the redhead decided to take a little nap.

Shinji on the other hand was alone in the kitchen preparing his own breakfast. He quietly contemplated how he would get through school on Monday. With Asuka's memory loss she wouldn't remember anything, also if she were to ask about the drowning incident she would be told everything. If she found out he was lying that wasn't good, there had to be a way to avoid any type of confrontation regarding the past. It was slowly becoming difficult for Shinji. He not only had to try and get back together with Asuka, but on top of that he had to lie about and hide certain events in the past.

'It seems she's really trying to pry information out of me too, but I can't tell her what happened between us and hopefully she won't remember either. As much as that's the easy way out for me I know now it wouldn't even work besides it's not fair to her.'

The young boy finished preparing breakfast and sat down at the dining table to begin eating it. He considered for a moment whether he should wake up Misato and make her breakfast as well, but lost his resolve when he heard a rather loud snore come from her room. As Shinji ate his breakfast he wondered what a direct approach to Asuka might do, if he flat out told her he liked or loved her what would she do? She would probably get suspicious rather than believe it to be genuine at this time. No he had to wait to reveal his feelings.

The eva pilot finished his breakfast, placing his dish in the sink before returning in front of Asuka's room. Shinji decided he would ask her what she wanted to do today, as he didn't really have a plan for the present day. He knocked on her door quietly waiting for a response. The young boy opened her door curiously after a while to see why the redhead wasn't responding. He looked into her room and saw her still figure on the bed, she had fallen asleep. He watched her for a while loving the peaceful look she had on her face when she slept, breathing in and out softly. He then started to feel his bodily desires. God how he wanted her, to add to all Shinji's problems he had to also control and restrain himself from pouncing onto her.

He quickly calmed himself down but he knew he had to relieve the sexual tension just to make it more bearable for him. He sighed and tore his face away from Asuka. The young boy exited her room quietly and went over to his. Shinji entered his room and closed the door behind him. He sat down on his bed and listened for any noise. Both roommates were asleep and so he unzipped his pants.

He ran his hand up and down his cock getting it erect. He smiled slightly as he began to think about Asuka, remembering what had happened shortly after she rescued him from drowning. He grunted a little with the exertion of moving his hand up and down his shaft. He was smiling blissfully, as his relief got closer and closer. His door opened and in walked Asuka. Her eyes bulged as she saw what he was doing and he quickly covered himself, his face blushing a very deep shade of red.

"Um…hi Asuka" he said weakly.

"HENTAI!" she screamed and slammed the door shut. The young girl turned around to scream through the door. "That is so disgusting, what the hell is wrong with you! You've mentally scarred me for the rest of my life!"

"You were supposed to be asleep!" Shinji shouted back.

"I don't care. If you are ever going to do something so gross, make sure you are alone first!"

"YOU should knock on my door first!"

He got her there; she couldn't go back on what she had said yesterday with the shower incident and so she stayed silent.

"Anymore 'wise' comments from the Great Asuka?"

It took all her will to restrain herself from storming through the door and beating the living hell at of him. She was however surprised at his size, despite he's perverted actions and how much she disliked Shinji, she had to admit he was certainly large enough. The young girl furrowed her brow; just yesterday she was helping herself while Shinji was in the other room. She didn't like being a hypocrite so she sighed and faced his door once more.

"You done yet?" she said.

She could almost feel Shinji's blush.

"Yeah I'm done"

She opened the door cautiously and found him sitting on his bed avoiding her gaze.

"I didn't mean to interrupt your morning ritual, it's none of my business so lets just drop the matter," she said wanting to get past this as quickly as possible.

Shinji nodded slightly relieved. Asuka moved up to him and slapped him hard across the cheek.

"But make sure this NEVER happens again, you got it?"

The young boy just nodded while nursing his red cheek.

"Anyway what I originally planned to do was ask you what we were going to do today"

He looked up at her with an almost amused expression on his face.

"I was going to ask you the exact same thing," he said grinning.

"Get your mind out of the gutter already!" she said slapping him once more not liking the way he was smiling. "You can fantasize about Rei later!"

"I wasn't fantasizing about Rei" he muttered nursing his cheek once again.

Asuka heard him and looked at him curiously. "Oh really? Who then?"

"Its not important" he said avoiding the question.

"Don't try to evade the question! Don't get the wrong idea here, I couldn't care less about your perverted mind, but I need to know who to warn of your advance" she said smirking.

Shinji wasn't totally dumb, he knew she was curious because it wasn't Rei but he didn't think it wise to mention he was thinking about the person standing in front of him.

"Answering your previous question we could finish practising the play and-"

"Honestly third child you're asking to get severely injured, now spill or you'll wish you were never born"

He momentarily considered saying Misato, but thought better of it. He knew he couldn't say Hikari, Asuka already knew he didn't like her that way and there really weren't any other girls he knew.

'Well what's she gonna do? She'll scream at me about being a pervert and that I'm not worthy, which is better than anything Asuka has planned for me if I don't say anything'

"It's you. I was fantasizing about you so can we drop this already" he said quietly.

She looked at him surprised, though when she thought about it she was a pretty girl and part of almost everything in his life, including home life and eva. In light of this, her actions yesterday made more sense now to her, it was just because she had so much contact with him is all.

"Well I am the most beautiful girl in Tokyo-3 after all, at least you have good taste. However you keep all those perverted thoughts in your head because it ain't ever going to happen," she said sneering at him.

He rolled his eyes up at the ceiling. Asuka brought her hand down to his face and traced his jaw line. To say Shinji was shocked was an understatement.

"And how do I behave in your fantasy?" she said seductively.

Shinji's face burned bright red as she sat on his lap and caressed his face.

"A-Asuka what are you doing?" he asked softly.

"What's wrong Shinji, you don't want me now? I can be _very_ pleasing"

"B-but-" he started.

"You do like me right?"

"Y-yes but-"

"Did something happened between us?" she asked curiously.

"Yes I mean no, well um…"

"What happened between us?"

"We had-" Shinji stopped suddenly realising he was being played. He regained his composure wondering how he could fall for such a cheap trick. He had a small glimmer of hope that maybe she was being genuine but it was obvious she was just trying to manipulate him. Though in truth the main reason he was so nervous was because he didn't want to jump onto Asuka.

"Look Asuka I've told you everything, stop trying to get information out of me" he said calmly.

Asuka looked at him shocked but it soon turned to anger. "Well at least you're smart enough to realise that I would never _ever_ do something like that with you." She jumped off his lap as if it were hot coals and turned to face him. "But don't lie Ikari, you _are_ hiding something. I know something happened between us two, but you won't tell and I don't know why"

"Are you DEAF? There is nothing to tell, I already said I told you everything," he said.

"What about the stupid swimming pool incident?" she asked.

"I had FORGOTTEN, but in the end it wasn't that important" he explained.

"So you've also conveniently 'forgotten' what happened between us as well?"

"I have only forgotten a few minor incidents and I have told you everything else. So just drop it"

"You _will_ tell me third child what I want to know right _now_!"

"Just leave me alone you stupid whore!" he shouted at her.

She slapped him on the face in rage. "Oh please, even you know I wasn't trying to get onto you. As if I ever would!"

He just sneered at her. "Oh you only wish you could have me, I know you fantasize about me"

This time the redhead punched him in face. Both teens were extremely pissed. She prepared another blow only to have her arm caught by Shinji.

"I am sick and tired of your childish behaviour Asuka you are just a spoilt-" he was interrupted by a sharp kick from the young girl. Shinji didn't care anymore and so began the fight. He punched her in the jaw; she staggered back shocked he would attack back. She quickly dodged his second attack and did a roundhouse kick to his head. He got up dazed and charged towards her making her crash into his chair breaking it completely.

'Damn that hurt' she thought.

She shoved him off of her and stood up quickly. He attempted to get up quickly but fell onto the bed when he received a blow to the nose. His nose began bleeding heavily and he got up swiftly ready to retaliate only to get winded as Asuka punched him straight in the gut. He collapsed to the floor and Asuka kicked him in the chest. Shinji grabbed her legs and tripped her over. She fell over hitting her head on the floor hard. She looked up, her vision swimming, as her head pounded unbearably. The young boy got on top of her and held her arms down, effectively pinning her.

"God damn it Asuka, is this your solution to everything? Stop pushing people away"

"What right do you have to say that? You're so weak and cowardly always running away from something if it's too hard or putting the blame onto yourself"

"Unlike you, I have changed. Do you think the old Shinji would have the guts to do what I'm doing right now? I may have been cowardly and weak but at least I was honest about it and got past it"

"How could you possibly understand me? You have no idea about anything so just rack off"

"You can't just take it out on everyone else just because you found your mother hanging from the ceiling, everyone has problems my mother died in front of my eyes as well. Honestly your mother didn't intentionally leave you it was an accident, its not that hard to forgive her. You can't keep pushing everyone away just because you think anyone who you open your heart to will betray you" he said angrily.

"How did you know?" she asked taken aback. His words had stung her hard.

"You told me," he said, instantly regretful he had mentioned her past. He had been so angry and lost control.

She stayed silent for a while, suddenly feeling weak.

"Why would I tell you about my past?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Look I shouldn't have said that really, just forget about it alright?" he said getting off of her.

The redhead got up and moved towards Shinji's door. She turned to face him

"Listen here third child you keep your stupid information, I don't care anymore. You just stay the hell away from me. Understand? I hate you," she said.

Asuka opened his door ready to slam it behind her but Shinji couldn't give up now. He grabbed her wrist holding her there.

"Please Asuka, don't do this. I didn't mean it I was just angry" he said tears threatening to flow down his cheeks.

"Didn't you hear what I said? I hate you. I hate _you_. I HATE YOU!" she said shaking his hand off her and slamming the door in his face.

The young boy stood there stunned at the turn of events, it had spiraled out of control rapidly and from something so small. 'Man this is gonna be much tougher than I thought.'

Shinji opened his door curiously after not hearing another door slam. He hoped she hadn't run off or anything. He was completely surprised to find the object of all his pain and pleasure slumped against the wall just next to his door. The redhead looked up at him when she heard his door open. She glared menacingly at him just daring him to do anything.

"Do you really hate me?" Shinji asked softly.

She heard the question but stayed silent. Shinji stood there patiently waiting for an answer, as the minutes passed by he was about to leave.

"No" she said so quietly he almost didn't hear.

Despite her anger and her behaviour towards the pilot of Unit 01 she did care for him deep down.

"Look we both said things there that perhaps we shouldn't have, but I'm willing to forgive you if you can do the same for me" Shinji said hopeful.

She sighed and turned around to face him fully.

"Apology accepted but that doesn't mean that I've gone soft or anything, you're just lucky I feel particularly forgiving today"

Shinji smiled brightly. "Of course. The great Asuka rules with an iron fist"

"You bet I do" she said playfully hitting him on the head.

Both of them grimaced as the adrenalin wore off and their entire body ached with bruises and cuts. Dried blood covered Shinji's face as his nose had been bleeding. Asuka also had some blood on her chin from her cut lip where Shinji had punched her. Both teens looked at each other and laughed, and instantly regretted it as pain tore through their torsos.

"Man we really went all out didn't we? I'm not paying for the chair by the way," said Asuka smirking.

"Ok, but I think we should fix ourselves up. You go to the bathroom first and I'll get the first aid kid from the kitchen cupboard"

"Fine, but don't touch me with your hand" she said grinning cheekily.

Shinji blushed remembering the initial incident that had occurred.

"Alright" he said quickly walking off not wanting to be teased further. The young boy made his way to the kitchen as scrambled through the medicinal cupboard for bandages and the first aid kit. He swiftly washed his hands smiling slightly. Even though he had gotten beaten up badly by Asuka, he felt they progressed somewhat. Though he was amazed Misato had been able to sleep through all that, she screamed 'I hate you' pretty loudly not to mention they broke a chair.

He stood there in the radiance of the sun coming through the window for a moment, enjoying the warmth flowing onto him. The sound of an angry voice calling him broke him out of his daze and he hurried to the bathroom with the medical equipment. Shinji opened the door finding that Asuka had cleaned up all her blood and was waiting impatiently.

"Took you long enough. What were you doing? Having another session in the kitchen?"

"No Asuka" he said blushing.

"Whatever just hurry up give me that stuff while you wash your face. You look dreadful"

The young boy did so and began to wash the dry blood off his face. Luckily she hadn't broken his nose. The water turned crimson as he washed himself. After finishing he wiped himself dry with a towel and turned his attention to the redhead. She was grimacing slightly as she dabbed her wounds with iodine soaked cotton wool. The redhead took out some bandages and was finding difficulty in placing them on the cuts on her arms.

"I can't really place them on my elbows and fingers properly so you do it" she said to Shinji.

"Ok" he said acknowledging her request.

"Wait, did you wash your hands?" she asked.

"Yes" he answered.

"Good"

Shinji quickly placed bandages over the redhead's wounds and looked up at her when he finished his work.

"By the way Asuka"

"Yeah?"

"I didn't wash my hands," he said jokingly.

"What?" she said slapping him hard.

"Relax, I was just kidding," he said nursing his once again abused cheek.

"Don't joke with me Ikari!"

Shinji looked himself over discovering he was mainly covered in bruises, Asuka had received most of her cuts from crashing into the chair. Since she had taken the brunt of it he didn't receive any cuts from the wooden splinters. He patched up the few open wounds he had and turned back to face Asuka.

"You should put an ice pack on your head or you'll get a large bump" Shinji said to her.

"Definitely, I hit my head pretty hard thanks to you" she said sticking her tongue out him.

Both teens got up and began to walk to the kitchen. Shinji went to the fridge to take and ice pack out of the freezer while Asuka sat down at the dining table. The young boy took out a cloth and covered the ice pack with it. He moved over to Asuka and gave it to her. The redhead placed it on the place she had hit her head and sighed in relief. The young boy sat down next to her.

"So why did you initially come to my room for again?" Shinji asked.

"I was going to ask what to do today," she answered.

"So you have any ideas?" he asked.

"Why do you think I came to you dumbass?"

"Well I did say earlier we could finish the play, other than that nothing comes to mind"

"Well I think we better get this play over and done with. Who knows, we might come up with something after we finish it" she said.

"Fine with me"

The two pilots both got up and walked into the living room. Their plays were already there, where they had left them yesterday. They commenced reading over their lines, Asuka remembering fairly quickly and soon they had begun reciting. Asuka placed her ice pack on the table as they began to enact their parts. By now Misato had already gotten up and was lazing around as usual taking some curiosity in her charge's activities. She started drinking several beers as she lost interest. After much time they finished the play.

"What an interesting play though I have to say it's a bit too soapy. I mean a happy ending like that it's so unrealistic" Asuka said as they just finished the final scene.

Shinji laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"That's exactly what you said the first time we did the play, word for word"

Asuka just shrugged.

"Do you need to go over any scene or are you good?" asked Shinji.

"I'm good, except maybe for that kissing part…"

Misato spat out her beer. "You two have to kiss?" she asked laughing.

"Don't blow in Misato" said Asuka angrily.

"I will take the day off work just to see you two kiss in that play, man it'll be worth it" Misato said giggling.

"Misato!" Asuka said threateningly.

"Oh don't let me stop you, go ahead and practice it. Or are you afraid of kissing a little boy like Shinji?" Misato said teasingly.

"I'm not afraid of anything!" she said indignantly.

The redhead grabbed Shinji by the neck and pulled him into a deep lip lock. Misato gave Shinji two thumbs up as she grinned cheekily. Shinji sweat dropped at his guardian's behaviour but soon got lost in the kiss. He thought it ironic that this morning they had been beating the crap out of each other and now they were in a deep kiss. 'That's Asuka for you' he thought.

The young girl parted deciding she had proved her point to her disbelieving guardian.

"I told you I can do it!" she said pompously.

"You sure convinced me. Are you sure you two aren't lovers or something?" said Misato cheekily.

"What?" Asuka said her face turning red.

"If you want I can leave you two alone, so you can have fun together"

"That is it!" said Asuka jumping onto Misato attacking her wildly.

"Are you always this wild with Shinji?" Misato said unable to contain herself.

This just infuriated the redhead even more as she begun attacking her more viciously. Shinji sweat dropped as he looked at the convulsed mass made up of Asuka and Misato. He decided he should step in as it was getting out of control. The young boy pulled Asuka off the still laughing Misato.

"What are you doing Shinji? She deserves to have her heart ripped out," said Asuka angrily.

"You know getting angry about it only works against you Asuka," said Shinji calmly.

"Fine" she said pushing his arms off her. "That also concludes our play practice, since I seem to remember it fully I don't think we need to rehearse it again"

Misato had stopped laughing and returned her attention to her beer. Asuka tossed her hair back and turned to face Shinji.

"I forgot to have a shower this morning and I really need one now. I don't want any incidents like yesterday occurring and none of this morning's stuff either you got it?" she said to him.

Misato looked at them curiously but dismissed it.

"Right" he said blushing.

"Also you better do the laundry I need all my clothes washed, I've got almost nothing left clean" she demanded.

"Yeah that's because with all that happened I haven't done the laundry since Wednesday"

Together with going to Rei's house then the angel attack the next day and finally all of Friday with Asuka he hadn't had the time. Right now was as good as ever to finally wash their clothes and so he quickly went off to do his errand.

Asuka went to her room picked out new clothes, went to the bathroom and made sure to lock the door. She undressed and stepped under the shower turning on the taps. The warm water running over her helped her relax a bit and she made sure to wash herself thoroughly. The young girl pondered today's events as she washed her hair. Shinji knew about her past, surprisingly, and they had had the largest fight that had ever occurred between them. It hadn't been easy to forgive him, his words had stung her hard, but she had walked in on him and then tried to use him to get information out of him so she supposed she should. Besides she didn't actually hate him and he was the one who understood her more than anyone, even more so that he knew her past.

But she had found out one thing, something had happened between them and he was about to say it. Of course 'we had' could be followed by 'gone to the moon' so she still had no clue, but she had pinpointed what he was hiding and she supposed she could get more information at school on Monday. She halted her thoughts and began to relax. Asuka stayed standing there for a while, enjoying the peace of mind. After a while she turned off the water and dried herself, wrapping the towel around her. She exited the bathroom and headed towards her room.

* * *

Shinji had gone to do the laundry and was separating clothes and looking through their pockets in case someone left something in one by accident. When searching one of his own pants he felt something in one of the pockets. He pulled it out and found himself looking at a bundle of cloth. It took a while for his mind to click and he remembered what it was. On Wednesday night before going to Rei's house a ragged man had given it to him for showing him kindness, he had totally forgotten about it. Curious he began to unravel it. He found a golden ring, it was extremely beautiful set with a powerfully red stone. He checked the inside and there was an inscription '_Semper Amemus._' There was also a tape not unlike the ones he played in his SDAT. He pocketed the tape and began placing the clothes in for washing making sure not to mix anything incorrectly.

As the machine began its work, Shinji began to walk towards his room examining the ring more closely. The jewel had such a deep red that it looked like an endless crimson abyss.

"This ring has such excellent workmanship why would that man have given me something so valuable?"

Shinji saw the bathroom door open and quickly hid the ring in his pocket. Asuka emerged from the bathroom with a towel around her. She had begun to head towards her room when Shinji stopped her.

"Can I ask a question Asuka?"

"Go ahead" she said a little curious.

"What does ummm 'Sempa Amames' mean?"

"You mean 'Semper Amemus'?"

"Yeah that's it"

"Where did you see that?"

"It doesn't matter, do you know what it means?"

"It means 'love is forever' in Latin. But nobody uses Latin these days, I still had to study it in college for god knows what. Is that all?"

"Yes thank you"

"Fine whatever" she said entering her room and closing the door.

The eva pilot smiled, the ring he had been given was perfect for his situation. 'How in the blazes did that man know? Or how did he even know I had an SDAT player?'

He shook his head and entered his room to check out the tape. The young boy looked at his clock surprised to see it was already in the afternoon. But then again a lot had already happened today.

He reached into his pocket and took out the tape. Taking out his SDAT from his drawer he placed the tape inside. The young boy placed his earplugs in and pressed play, on came some pre-impact music very different to the ones he had in his possession.

_You only see what your eyes want to see  
How can life be what you want it to be  
You're frozen  
When your hearts not open_

_You're so consumed with how much you get  
You waste your time with hate and regret  
You're broken  
When your heart's not open…_

Shinji thought it was pretty nice and decided to keep it, however he'd listen to all the songs later. Though he still thought it quite strange that the man given him a tape, when almost no one had an SDAT player these days. He pressed pause, placed his SDAT player back in his drawer and then changed into some new clothes. Shinji exited his room to prepare some food. It was the afternoon, he was hungry and he was sure the others were as well. On his way to the kitchen he noticed Misato was lying down on the couch in the living room.

"Hey Misato me and Asuka have nothing to do for the rest of the day"

"And?" Misato asked.

"Well now is as good a time as any to tell Asuka about instrumentality, she deserves to know and I'm about to make dinner so you can tell her after"

"Alright I don't see why not. Dinner sounds good too I'm starving"

Shinji continued on to the kitchen ready to start making their meals. He looked through the fridge disheartened to find many instant food packages had been added. 'When did Misato go shopping?' he thought curiously. 'How in the world did she survive eating this junk?' he thought as he eyed the can of liquid pizza.

He took out some items and began cooking dinner for everyone. Misato had sat down at the dining table awaiting the food. A pleasant aroma began to fill kitchen and soon drifted off to every corner of the house. Asuka came out from her room smelling the food and followed the scent to its source. The redhead noticed Shinji preparing dinner and sat down at the table with Misato.

"When's dinner gonna be ready" Asuka asked impatiently.

"Very soon" he answered.

Asuka waited in silence while Shinji finished his cooking. Misato and Shinji were both awkwardly quiet. The young girl had a sense of foreboding. She sensed something was coming. Wishing to drop the gloomy atmosphere Misato piped up.

"So how are you doing now Asuka?"

"Fine" she said abruptly.

Misato stopped knowing it would be pointless to start small talk with her. Shinji finally finished the meals and placed them on the table. The group began to eat the food, Asuka's anxiety growing rapidly with every passing moment. When they had all finished they sat down in silence for a few minutes until Shinji decided to break it.

"Misato I think its about time we told her the truth about Nerv"

Misato nodded.

"What are you talking about?" asked Asuka curiously.

"You'll see. Shinji if you don't mind it'd probably be best if I explain this alone with her"

"Yes I understand" he said nodding.

He walked out of the kitchen, seeing Misato turn to face Asuka in the corner of his eye. Their voices drifted off as he entered his room. Explaining instrumentality would take a while so he decided he'd pass the time by listening to the new tape. He took out his SDAT, put his earphones on and lay down on his bed. He once again pressed play and music filled his ears as he lay there waiting for Misato to finish with Asuka.

_Mmmmmm, if I could melt your heart  
Mmmmmm, we'd never be apart  
Mmmmmm, give yourself to me  
Mmmmmm, you hold the key_

_Now there's no point in placing the blame  
And you should know I suffer the same  
If I lose you  
My heart will be broken_

_Love is a bird, she needs to fly  
Let all the hurt inside of you die  
You're frozen  
When your heart's not open…_

The music cut off abruptly, replaced by silence. Then a voice,

"Yo you're late"

The man's voice sounded familiar, one he had heard recently. Then a gunshot was heard and a pair of footsteps running off. Shinji listened on in shocked silence, the only sound was the occasional moan. After a few minutes he heard a grunt.

"You missed Katsuragi"

Instantly Shinji knew the man was Kaji. He heard a sound like someone getting up then it stopped, only to come back to Kaji speaking.

_"Yo Shinji, I know you might be wondering what's going on, but this is Kaji. I have given you this tape because I am not yet ready to present myself to Misato yet. Don't worry if you didn't recognise me, I wanted it that way. Anyway I want you to know I'm still alive, Misato shot me but only wounded me as you heard in the recording. One favour I ask is not to tell Misato about this, not yet anyway. I know she's probably grief stricken over thinking that she killed me, but I will show myself soon enough. I wanted you to know though…"_

The tape seemed to pause for a moment.

_"That ring I gave you was the one I was planning to propose to Misato with a long time ago, except I never had the courage to do so, I think you need it more. You might be wondering how I know you would need it, well let's just say I have a way through Nerv's security and saw the recording of the battle with the 15th angel. If you want to know how I found you I followed you when you exited the apartment alone, I am a spy after all. One last thing I warn you DO NOT go see the movie 'Angels and Evas.' I was desperate for money so I sold some information about Nerv but I'd never think he'd go so far as to make a movie and an awful one at that…"_

'Too late Kaji' thought Shinji sweat dropping 'well at least we know who the leak was.'

"_So yeah sorry about that movie and don't try looking for me I will come soon enough. I hope you're doing good kid."_

Shinji sat there as the message finished and the music resumed playing. He slowly digested the information he just heard and started crying. He knew there was something up, every time he asked Misato about Kaji she began acting strangely, now he knew why. But he was still alive he felt so happy. He couldn't believe the person he had met that night was Kaji, he couldn't believe he didn't recognise him. The young boy wiped his eyes dry and placed the tape and SDAT back in his drawer. He lay back down smiling at the good news. If Kaji showed himself soon, surely he could help him with his relationship issues, especially since Kaji knew Asuka a bit. Shinji lay on his bed patiently waiting for Misato or Asuka to tell him they were finished. After a while Asuka came to his door and knocked.

"Well your father is certainly one fucked up bastard and I knew something was up with Wondergirl. Plus our evas have the souls of our mothers which is just disconcerting," she said entering his room.

"So you know everything now? Did this make you remember anything?" he asked.

"Yeah Misato told me everything, and my mind did register a few glimpses of the past. I could see myself sitting with you while she was explaining the same thing. I was curious as to why we need to bathe in LCL regularly?"

Shinji blushed and turned his face away. 'She _had_ to remember _that_ didn't she?'

"Its not important" he replied.

"Not this again, all everyone has been doing is keeping information from me. That instrumentality rubbish is just one great example"

"We were planning to tell you that from the beginning, we have not hid anything from you"

"If you're not hiding anything from me, why can't you tell me why we have to bath in LCL regularly? Surely you've got nothing to hide and we have enough time for an explanation, its not like we're doing anything else anyway"

Shinji gritted his teeth, he really didn't see an easy way out of this one. All day she had been trying to get him to spill and he was exhausted of ideas to make up.

"I'm not in the mood just drop it," he said hoping she would leave it alone for now.

"No I won't! You will tell me now"

"Drop it!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

Shinji got up and began to walk to his door. Asuka moved in front of him to stop him.

"You're not getting away Ikari"

"I need to go to the toilet," he said.

The expression on Asuka's face visibly showed she was annoyed. She stepped aside to allow him to pass through.

"Fine, but I'll be waiting outside the bathroom, you're not escaping this time," she said.

Shinji exited his room and moved to the bathroom, followed closely by Asuka. She stood to the side while he opened the door and entered, closing the door behind him. The redhead leaned against the wall waiting for the Unit 01 pilot to finish his business.

Shinji sat down on the toilet racking his brain for a way to get out of this. The problem this time was that the truth in this case would reveal the need for contraceptives. It didn't take a genius to figure out why they would be needed. Plus she had remembered that they both need it, from which could easily be deduced after learning the truth that they were sleeping with each other.

"Hurry up or I'll break down this door and kick you so hard not even Nerv will be able to find you!" shouted Asuka.

'Why did I fall in love with someone so cruel and evil?' he thought. 'Wait Nerv! That's it! How come I didn't think of that before? It's the perfect excuse.'

"I'm almost done" he called out.

Shinji got up and flushed the toilet. He went over to the sink and washed his hands. The young boy mentally prepared himself and moved to the door opening it. As he walked through the doorway a hand shot out to stop him.

"Alright Shinji you've done your business now talk"

"Fine alright. Now how do I say this…" he said trailing off.

"For starters you use your mouth to produce sounds that form a coherent and intelligible language" she said irritated.

"Well umm you see…LCL acts as a contraceptive if you bathe in it regularly" he said nervously.

Asuka raised her eyebrow at him.

"What, is that some kind of sick perverted joke?"

"No I'm serious"

"Why in god's name would we need to use a contraceptive…?" and she realised, there could be no other reason why the two of them would need it unless they were having sex with someone.

"But that's impossible…?" she started.

"What do you mean? It has become standard procedure at Nerv to make sure we have our regular sync tests now that they have discovered this property. In case we are kidnapped and raped we won't get anything unexpected, it was to make sure we could keep piloting no matter what" he lied.

"I should have known," she said shaking her head from her previous thoughts. If she was impregnated it was obvious she couldn't pilot, if he impregnated a woman, there was a chance she might leave the child to him. Nerv was just covering all it bases as usual.

'I think she bought it, as long as she doesn't ask Misato or anyone else at Nerv and we continue having regular sync tests it will stick' he thought relieved.

"Well I can understand why you didn't want to explain, I could have gotten the wrong idea but at least I know now"

"I must finish doing the laundry," said Shinji suddenly remembering.

"Alright go ahead it's getting late after all," she said walking back to her room.

The young boy returned to the laundry finding that the washing machine had finished its round. He pulled out all the clean clothes and placed them into the dryer. He switched the dryer on and it began its incessant noise as it twirled around drying the wet clothes. He placed the remaining dirty clothes into the washing machine, placed the washing powder in and began the wash again.

Shinji began the trip to the kitchen when he noticed Misato leaving the house. Misato noticed Shinji and turned to face him.

"Hey Shinji, I have a late night shift at Nerv so I'll be going now. You should have supper and go to bed already"

"Alright Misato, goodbye"

"Goodbye Shinji" she said as she opened the door and walked through. The young boy saw the door close, heard the lock click and then a couple of footsteps walking away growing quieter.

Shinji returned from his detour and moved to the kitchen. Since they had dinner not that long ago, he decided not to make that big a supper. For one of the first times today he could rest and enjoy the quiet and peaceful atmosphere. With Asuka's constant nagging it was a surprise he hadn't broken down yet, she was scary and persuasive and he found it difficult to refuse her. However now that the day was almost over he could at least enjoy the sleep that was to come.

With all the quiet he suspected that, despite her initial reaction to hearing the truth about Nerv, Asuka was still digesting all the information. Shinji began preparing their supper, wearing the same apron he had yesterday. He soon finished and called out to Asuka to come to the dining table. The redhead came and sat down at the dining table quietly. Shinji brought the food to the table and Asuka snickered slightly at the apron. The young boy removed the apron and sat down at the dining table beginning to eat supper with Asuka. A friendly silence was kept as the two teens ate their meal. Shinji looked at Asuka longingly when she wasn't looking. The shower she had today had made her hair once again look so radiant. He resolved that anything was worth to have her back in his arms and suddenly today seemed like just another obstacle on the path to Asuka's heart.

The young boy resumed his meal as Asuka had finished hers. The redhead placed her dish in the sink and returned to her room. Soon Shinji had also finished and he placed his dish in the sink as well. The young boy traveled down to the laundry seeing that both the drying and washing had been completed. He removed the dry clothes and placed them in a basket deciding to distribute the clothes tomorrow. He then took out the washed clothes from the washing machine and placed them into the dryer.

After switching it on he moved about the house switching off all the lights. Shinji walked back to his room in the darkness. The pale moon shone through the window allowing him to traverse the dark hallway back to his room. He entered his room, lay down on his bed and swiftly drifted off to sleep. Asuka was still awake in her room but was slowly dozing off. One thought kept nagging at the back of her mind as she finally found herself falling asleep; Shinji had admitted he liked her…

* * *

End Notes: This chapter was originally quite a bit different, but I changed it because I didn't like how too many things were resolved. Anyways if there's an error in continuity I wouldn't mind you pointing it out. This chapter didn't turn out as good as I was hoping but oh well, I couldn't write it for a while and I lost a bit due to my hardrive dying. I bet no one expected the man that night to be Kaji right? I'm good yeah :D. Also if you don't understand what happened when Asuka was hitting on Shinji, what happened is that when she heard he had been fantasizing about her she dropped her current plan and used the opportunity to prey on his current state to get information out of him. I hope the fight didn't seem like it was resolved too easily or something, I tried my best, I needed them to stay on good terms, but yeah feel free to say if it was good or bad I want to know. Also for those of you wondering the song lyrics are from a song called 'Frozen' by Madonna, they are not my own creation. Don't forget to review :D.


	13. The Commander Finds Out

Author's Notes: Finally have written the 13th chapter. Now to answer reviews. First of all to you who killed Yiazmat in 3 hours keep in mind I killed him at level 79 plus I didn't have the Zodiac Spear (because square enix are total dickheads in creating a requirement of NOT opening chests when every other FF you're supposed to open any you find). Furthermore I had all second best armour.

Now to Mr. Justanotherguyathiscomputer first of all I would like to say I will not be using your beginning this chapter or probably for any chapter for that matter. Despite the obvious cliché it is painfully disturbing when Ritsuko wakes up. Anyways for your question I think you missed the big line that read "Though in truth the main reason he was so nervous was because he didn't want to jump onto Asuka." If you want me to explain it in more detail here goes, there is immense sexual tension between Asuka and Shinji and Shinji goes to masturbate. Now right after he had gotten off after fantasizing about Asuka, she goes and starts becoming one of his fantasies and Shinji is finding it extremely difficult to control himself that's why he is stammering not from embarrassment. However I wrote it that way so that Asuka would think that it was from embarrassment, but even then I thought I made it pretty clear what happened by adding the previously mentioned line in. Anyways I hope I answered your question.

And now to the chapter which as many might find annoying contains no lemon. I saw that one review that said he wishes some smut soon. Well I can't have them rushing into a relationship or it seems too unrealistic so be patient please. Its always better the longer you have to wait for it :P.

* * *

Chapter 13: The Commander Finds Out

"You know why you are here?" he asked in his cold discompassionate tone.

"No sir" she answered.

"I have summoned you for a very important matter, I would like you to answer me with honesty" he replied.

"Yes sir"

"Very well, I would like to know the current state of the second child. I was not given an adequate report on the effects the angel had on her"

"Sir she has recovered well and is doing fine, there is nothing to report"

"As head of tactical operations you should know the danger of lying to your superior officer Major Katsuragi"

Sweat formed on Misato's brow as she stayed silent thinking of something to say.

"I do not wish to lose such a valuable personnel, however if you force me to I will make sure you won't work here again and perhaps anywhere as I don't like to leave loose ends" he said grinning slightly. "I will ask you again, what is the current state of the second child?"

"She has lost her memory sir" she admitted.

"How far back has she lost her memory?" the commander asked.

"She said she couldn't remember after the defeat of the 12th angel sir"

The commander stayed silent as he pondered the new information for a while. He turned to face Misato as he came to a decision.

"Very well, arrange a sync test as soon as possible, I must see her ability to pilot. I also request to see the pilot of Unit 01 after the sync test. That is all"

"Sir!" she said saluting him.

The Tactical Operations Director exited the commander's office wearily, wondering what she had set into motion. She had no choice but to tell him, he had practically threatened to kill her. She sighed tiredly as it was very early in the morning and she hadn't had any sleep yet. Misato walked back to her office to finish her paperwork and arrange a sync test today. The only thing keeping her awake was the fact that if she finished now, she could still have some sleep before the sync test.

* * *

"…_if it comes into conflict with your work I will have you two separated immediately. Also do not disobey my orders again Shinji"_

_"Excuse me Commander, but I do not know what you are referring to" asked Shinji confused._

"_The angel attack, I told you to stay in system freeze, yet you moved up the catapult to the surface"_

"_Sir, with all due respect Shinji was coming out to save the star pilot of Nerv. Nerv can't afford to lose a pilot at a time like this," said Asuka._

"_And?"_

"_Well I'd say the end justifies the means sir," she said mockingly._

_The commander just looked at her shocked, she had just used his life motto against him. The sub-commander behind him laughed. He recomposed himself._

"_One further thing underage…"_

Asuka woke to the feeling of another presence in the room. The young girl groaned clearly annoyed. The unknown visitor had opened her door _very_ quietly and was sneaking towards her. She lifted her head up to yell at Shinji for sneaking into her from. Suddenly the young girl had a look of terror on her face as she saw a man brandishing a gun aimed at her. Asuka reacted quickly sending her blanket up and leaping off the bed. The man fired several times and missed her completely.

"SHINJI! MISATO!" she screamed.

The man turned to aim his gun at her only to have it kicked out of his hand by Asuka. The man grabbed her leg and threw her across the room. She quickly lifted her head to see the man pull out a knife. The young girl attempted to get up but the man had already thrown the knife straight at her. She turned her head away shielding her face with her arms.

"Aahhhh"

The redhead looked up surprised to see Shinji with the knife pierced through his hand.

"You have to kill me first!" Shinji shouted at the man.

Shinji then pulled the knife out from his hand with a great cry of pain and threw it as hard as he could at the man. Surprised at the attack the man didn't manage to dodge it completely and received a knife pierced through his shoulder. The man cried in outrage as he pulled the knife out and dropped it to the floor. Shinji clutched his injured hand in pain as it bled heavily. The assassin swiftly moved towards them and punched Shinji in the jaw. The young eva pilot fell over however before he received another blow Asuka had kicked the man in the shins. He cried out in pain and Asuka picked up Shinji and began to move him to the door. However the man had quickly blocked their path.

The man seemed to think the situation over and decided they would be too difficult to kill by normal means now and so he took out a grenade. The two teens looked at the weapon in shock. The man sneered as he pulled the pin out and held it up with his hand. The two eva pilots had no escape and Asuka held onto Shinji tight, at least happy that she wouldn't die alone.

The man's face exploded into a mass of guts and blood as two gunshots were fired. Misato immediately appeared in front of them grabbing the grenade and throwing it out the window. No sooner had it broke through the glass of the window when it exploded and Misato pulled the two teens down to the ground. After the explosion had dissipated the guardian lifted her head up.

"You guys ok? I came into the house and heard noises coming from Asuka's room, you know the rest"

"I'm alright, but Shinji is wounded badly, we should take him to the hospital" said Asuka.

The two girls looked at the now unconscious brown haired boy.

"Shit he's unconscious. What happened to him Asuka?" asked Misato worried.

"He received a knife blow to the hand, it pierced right through and he's probably gone unconscious from blood loss"

Misato looked at Shinji's hand in shock and quickly looked around for something to cover the wound and stop the bleeding.

"Asuka quickly rip off some of your skirt we need to stop the bleeding now"

She was about to retort to tearing up her dress, but Shinji's life was in danger and she knew it was more important than a bit of fabric. She ripped off some fabric from the bottom of her skirt and handed it to Misato who wrapped it tightly around Shinji's hand. It quickly turned crimson as it became soaked in his blood.

"Come on Shinji don't die on me now" said Misato as she picked him up. "Let's go to the hospital Asuka, I'm sure you don't want to stay here after all that and besides there's a dead man in your room"

"Agreed" she replied.

The two girls hurriedly exited the apartment, running down the steps two at a time and quickly moving to Misato's parked car. Misato swiftly placed Shinji in the back and turned to face Asuka.

"Asuka I want you to stay in the back with Shinji, make sure he's okay and also keep pressure on his wound to make sure he stops bleeding"

"But-"

"I don't care if you don't want to do this, I am giving you a direct order now do it!"

Asuka could see Misato was both immensely angry and worried and knew not to argue with her in her current state. She complied and got into the back with Shinji. Immediately Misato drove off speeding as fast as she could to the hospital. Asuka took Shinji's hand, keeping pressure on it as Misato had asked. She could feel his pulse, it was weak but it was still there and she could hear him breathing meaning he was still alive.

The redhead couldn't help but think about her actions. She had hugged Shinji when she thought she was about to die, Asuka wanted to put it off as the fact that Shinji was the only one there, but she couldn't. Even now she could feel her distress at his current state and the feeling of dread in her heart. She couldn't stand this feeling, Shinji was slowly making his way past her defences and she knew it. The young girl couldn't comprehend how all her efforts to push him away resulted in nought, he was like a barnacle stuck on a rock; he just wouldn't budge.

It irritated her to no end how much everything had changed, how much he had changed. She couldn't control him or insult him like she used to, she wanted to go back to being totally independent and in power. Asuka hated the way he made her feel, but she couldn't hate him. Deep down inside she did not want to be alone. All these conflicting emotions stirred up unrest within the redhead. Very soon however they had arrived at the hospital. Misato slammed the brakes and swiftly pulled the unconscious eva pilot out of the car not caring where she had stopped the car. Asuka hurriedly followed after her guardian.

"This boy needs medical attention fast!" shouted Misato when they got inside the hospital.

Very quickly a few nurses and doctors took the young boy into their care and moved him into a suitable room to begin tending to his wound. As Misato tried to enter the room she was stopped and told to wait outside. The major sighed and sat down on the bench outside and motioned for Asuka to sit down next to her.

"I don't wanna hang around here for Shinji to be fixed, it's always such a boring wait"

"Asuka, Shinji has waited for you twice in hospital, which both took a considerable amount of hours. At least return the favour and wait here for him this time"

The redhead grumbled but sat down next to Misato waiting impatiently for the door to open. Hours passed by with no reports from the doctors, Asuka tapped her heel on the floor and sighed in irritation. Waiting was just not her cup of tea. She looked around the hallway for about the thousandth time, as if expecting it to change from when she last looked.

"Misato I can't wait any longer, I'm gonna go insane if I have to wait another hour"

"You should learn to have some patience, besides I have to go back to Nerv now since I still have many things to arrange. You have to stay here in case he recovers"

"Wait you're gonna leave me here all alone?"

"Sorry but I have to go, we have a sync test today after all"

"We do? But what about Shinji?"

"The commander won't care, as soon as Shinji recovers he'll make us start the sync test, he was very adamant about having one today"

"Fine, I'll wait one more hour and if he doesn't recover I am leaving I don't care"

"Alright Asuka" said Misato smiling slightly.

With that the tactical operations director walked down the hallway and out of sight leaving Asuka alone on the bench waiting for her co-worker. She looked down at her hands noticing Shinji's dried blood on her. He had saved her life, well at least saved her from getting badly injured. This was troublesome as now she was in Shinji's debt and Asuka did not like being in debt to someone. Maybe she could do one favour for him, she supposed she would ask him when he was well again.

The door opened interrupting her thoughts and a doctor came out.

"The boy has been treated and will survive, you may go see him but keep note he is exhausted due to loss of blood so don't make him more exhausted"

"Err…thank you" she answered walking into the room.

'Might as well go see him, I didn't wait here for nothing'

As she entered the room the doctor closed the door and walked off. Asuka looked at the sleeping form of Shinji on the bed. He had a peaceful and calm face and was smiling slightly, she couldn't help thinking he looked cute. The young girl looked down to his injured hand and saw it was properly bandaged and cleaned. Shinji looked a little paler than usual but otherwise he looked fine.

"Honestly you're just a big drama queen making all this fuss by going unconscious, you look absolutely fine" she said aloud to him.

She sighed wondering if she should wait for him to wake up or just shake him awake herself. Her decision was never made as the young boy decided to wake up himself. Asuka noticed him stir and sat down next to him. Shinji looked around sleepily and noticed Asuka looking at him with curiosity.

"Asuka?"

"The one and only" she answered.

At this Shinji smiled. "Do I get a kiss to make me feel better?"

"Most definitely not, I only stayed here to wait for your recovery because Misato told me to. How's your hand you baka?"

"Why do you want to know? You gonna miss my expert fingers?"

Asuka's face went red. 'What the hell?' She slapped Shinji hard.

"Look here you hentai, I was only curious if your hand was injured permanently" she said angrily.

The young boy rubbed his red cheek, finally waking up fully. He realised what he had just said and blushed embarrassed, lucky she had slapped him or who knows what he would have said.

"Ah Asuka I wasn't being serious. Anyway about my hand, the doctors said I was lucky. The knife pierced through not damaging any nerves or muscles it went straight through flesh. However it will take a while to heal and I'll have a permanent scar, but I will be able to use my hand fully so its not so bad. The worst thing that happened to me was blood loss"

"Next time don't try to be such a hero, I can handle myself just fine" she said poking him in the ribs.

"I'll try to remember that next time" he said.

"But still you did prevent me from getting a serious injury so I kinda owe you one. However I don't like being in debt so I'll give you one favour"

The young boy thought for a while however couldn't come to a decision, so he chose to use it later.

"You know I can't really think of anything at the moment, but I'll let you know when I do"

Asuka moved towards the room's exit and opened the door. She turned around to face him.

"Alright I better report your recovery to Misato. But you had better not even think about trying to use this body as a favour," she said to him.

"It won't be anything like that," Shinji replied, "I promise"

Asuka eyed him in disbelief, "Really? You aren't going to ask me to do something nasty?" she said skeptically.

"No Asuka," he said rolling his eyes. "And don't sound so disheartened"

Asuka exited the room quietly pondering what the young boy's favour could possibly be if it didn't involve her body. Then she finally got what he had said and turned around fists raised.

"Just wait till I get my hands on you third child!" she said running back into the room ready to pound the living hell out of Shinji.

The young boy just laughed and threw a pillow at her in attempt to slow her advance. Having no effect he then covered himself with his arms in a pitiful attempt to defend himself. The young girl broke through his defences almost immediately and proceeded to torture the pilot of Unit 01 with relentless poking. The redhead's actions were becoming unbearable as Shinji began to beg for her to stop.

"Please Asuka…ahhh…I can't take anymore" he said desperately.

"Not until you've learnt your lesson you perverted baka!" she said.

_"The boy has been treated and will survive, you may go see him but keep note he is exhausted due to loss of blood so don't make him more exhausted"_

Suddenly remembering what the doctor had said Asuka decided to stop. Shinji looked up at her curiously.

"I think you've learnt enough, besides I don't want you to pass out again. You're lucky this time third child but next time I'll be sure to make you pay"

"Alright Asuka" said Shinji sweat dropping.

The pilot of Unit 02 exited Shinji's room and closed the door. As she didn't have her mobile she went looking around in the hospital for a phone. There was something depressing about the long white hallways and Asuka grew a bit uneasy travelling them alone. There were surprisingly few people at the hospital and thus Asuka did not make contact with any human life as she sought out a phone. Upon finally spotting one she moved over to it and grabbed the receiver. She dialled Misato's number and listened to the dial tone as the phone rang.

"Hello this is Major Katsuragi speaking"

"Yes its me Asuka, Shinji has woken up and seems fine. He only looks a little paler than usual from blood loss and his hand is not permanently damaged"

"That's good news Asuka, glad to hear he's okay. Alright I'm gonna come by to pick you guys up soon, thank you for waiting"

"Yeah yeah, but I'm still wondering what in the hell an assassin was doing in my room"

"The situation has been reported to the commander and he is currently 'briefing' Section 2, he was quite outraged at such a security breach. However a recording was found on the man, the contractor is unknown however he had specific orders to kill you and not Shinji if possible"

"Who do you think is behind this?"

"No doubt its Seele, probably required Shinji to finish the last angel but wanted to be rid of you so they could attack much easier"

"This isn't good, am I no longer safe?"

"Don't worry Asuka, security will be much increased and on guard, another incident should not occur"

"It better not"

"Alright Asuka I can't stay and chat any longer, just stay with Shinji until I arrive"

Misato hung up and Asuka placed the receiver back down to its original position. The young girl began her trip back to Shinji's room, making sure she didn't get lost. Upon arriving at her destination she opened the door and entered the room. After closing the door behind her she looked at the sleeping form of the young eva pilot. He was snoring slightly and a bit of drool trickled down his chin. Asuka grabbed a tissue and wiped off the offending saliva thinking he looked ridiculous. She noticed she still had Shinji's blood on her hands and went over to the washroom to wash her hands. The water turned scarlet as she washed her hands clean. The young girl finished and re-entered the room. She sat down next to Shinji's bed as she waited for Misato to come by and pick them up.

The redhead suddenly recalled the dream she had in the morning. She and Shinji were discussing something with the commander. The first thing he had said was a threat to separate them if something came into conflict with Nerv. What was that something? Then Asuka had defended Shinji, even though she was proud she outsmarted the commander, she still found it strange she would defend Shinji. Then the most annoying part being that she was interrupted in her dream because of that assassin. The commander was about to say something but all she had caught was 'underage.' Well they were underage for drinking, smoking, voting, nightclubs, sex, marriage, purchasing knives and god knows what else. If only she had heard the next word.

She was broken out of her thoughts by the pilot of Unit 01 yawning quite loudly.

"You keep that gaping maw shut!" she shouted at him.

"Hello to you too" said Shinji chuckling. "I take it you talked to Misato already"

"I have and she's coming to pick us up soon"

"What for? I've just been hospitalised too"

"Don't be such a crybaby, a sync test has been arranged today and its important that we both go. You should be happy that you're getting out of the hospital early"

"Well that's true I guess. It won't be that much trouble either since I arrived here pretty quickly and have rested quite a bit"

The redhead decided to bring up this morning's dream, positive that it was a memory.

"I have a question for you Shinji"

"Go ahead"

"I remembered us having a discussion with the commander and he threatened to separate us and then he brought up something about 'underage' and I couldn't remember past that. What was coming into conflict with Nerv and what underage activity was he mentioning?"

Shinji was really caught off guard, however thanked god she hadn't remembered any of the incriminating parts of the discussion. He really didn't have much time to come up with an excuse so he said the first thing that came into his head.

"He was scolding us for underage drinking"

"Huh?"

"Well you see alcohol's effect would be disastrous to an eva pilot"

"I get that part dumbass, but what has underage drinking got to do with anything?"

"Well you see, one time Misato was at Nerv and we were in the house alone. You challenged me to a beer drinking contest saying that Misato wouldn't notice the beer missing as she had so much. I accepted the challenge and we started going through her beer like crazy, we were drinking so fast we didn't feel the effects till later. Suffice to say the commander was not happy to see a pair of drunken eva pilots repainting Unit 01 to red"

Asuka pissed herself, almost crying her eyes out with laughter. After she had started to breathe normally again she eyed the young boy with an amused expression.

"Now damn I wish I could remember that. I will admit the thought of drinking Misato's beer has crossed my mind, but I never thought we'd actually do it. Man I would have loved to see the commander's face"

"The commander had said that if our activities came into conflict with our work we would be separated and that's what he was talking about"

"Why wouldn't you have told me about that incident? Its absolutely hilarious"

"I honestly forgot Asuka"

"You seem to be forgetting a lot of things Shinji" she said eyeing him suspiciously.

Her stare-down was interrupted when the door to the room opened. In entered the tactical operations director with a slightly irritated expression on her face.

"Alright you two, we're going as soon as Shinji changes into some clothes. Come on Asuka we'll wait outside while he changes"

Asuka exited the room and Misato chucked Shinji some new clothes before closing the door. The young boy got up and hurriedly changed into his new clothes. He let out a sigh at the close call between him and Asuka, she was really determined to catch him off guard and make him let slip some information. She was really good at it too, but he was surprisingly good at lying to her.

As he finished dressing up he moved to the door and opened it. Outside Misato and Asuka were waiting with their arms folded across their chests. They both looked up at the sound of the door opening and noticed Shinji exiting the room.

"You ready Shinji?" asked Misato.

The boy nodded.

"Let's go then" she said.

The three of them walked out of the hospital together, Misato making sure to check Shinji out of the hospital. The three roommates walked through the parking lot towards their car. It was already a bit in the afternoon as the sun blazed down on them. The wait in the hospital had taken a while and thus much time had passed. This time Asuka sat in the front as they entered the car and Shinji in the back.

As Misato drove off, both teens were surprised to see the lack of recklessness she usually drove with. Misato on the other hand was not in any hurry to return to Nerv and besides she didn't want Shinji to pass out. The two eva pilots enjoyed a peaceful ride to Nerv with their heart beats steady for once. The two teens looked out the window, finally being able to, and enjoyed the cool wind sweeping past them as they drove. They didn't see many cars out, but it was Sunday and many people didn't work today and rested instead.

Shinji turned his attention to the wonderful view of Asuka and her windswept hair. Her beautiful red hair blew across her face as she looked out the open window, seemingly caressing her graceful features. No matter where and when, Asuka was always just as beautiful as ever. Shinji hoped he could settle their relationship before he got lost in her charm.

The young boy quickly averted his gaze as the redhead turned around for a moment. He set his mind to the task at hand, he too was curious to see Asuka's results in the sync test. Finally they arrived at Nerv and Misato drove the car into the car elevator. As they went deeper and deeper into the earth, Misato started to dread what would happen. She really didn't want to see her two charges upset and hoped the commander wasn't planning anything miserable. Silence filled the car as they went further down.

After reaching their destination the three of them exited the car. As the two eva pilots began heading in the direction of the changing rooms Misato stopped them.

"That is not required, you will be doing this sync test naked"

"What?" said Asuka.

"Not now Asuka alright. You've done this before so get over it. This was a direct order from the commander"

"Are all the Ikari's perverted or something?" she shouted.

Misato couldn't help laughing while Shinji just sweat dropped at the comment.

"Look the sooner you do this, the sooner its over" said Misato.

"Yeah I just don't trust Shinji here not to peek at this perfect body"

Shinji just rolled his eyes.

"Let's just do this Asuka" he said.

"Fine"

The two of them walked towards the eva cages while Misato headed to command. The two eva pilots walked in silence but both of them were thinking furiously. Shinji was debating whether or not he really could resist temptation, and if not if he would survive or not. Asuka was throwing every German curse she knew at the commander. They arrived at the entry point for insertion and noticed Rei was there as well.

"Please enter your entry cubicles" said Ritsuko over the P.A.

The three eva pilots entered their individual cubicles and pulled up the screens. They stripped off their clothes and the cubicles went up as they were also elevators. The elevators stopped at a long white hallway.

"Turning off visual cameras now" said the voice over the P.A.

The three screen doors opened and Rei walked forward while the other two hesitated.

"What are you waiting for Ikari?" said Asuka annoyed.

"Why are you waiting as well?" asked Shinji.

"Fine we go at the same time, on three. 1..2..3"

Both eva pilots began walking forward.

"Don't you dare even think about looking" Asuka stated.

"Yes Asuka" he replied.

"Pilot Souyru why are you concerned at Shinji seeing you without your clothes on? As I was aware of your current relationship it shouldn't bother you" said Rei.

"WHAT!" shouted Asuka. Shinji just looked at Rei incredulously, had she not been informed on Asuka's current state of mind?

Rei then smiled slightly. "As Toji said you two act as a married couple, surely you wouldn't mind?"

Asuka looked at her shocked. "Is that a joke? Coming from you Rei? Well I never thought that was possible, next thing you know Kensuke has a girlfriend"

Shinji sighed in relief, but smiled slightly at Asuka's comment.

"You three hurry up already you're wasting too much time chatting"

"Hai" they all said.

In Shinji's peripheral vision he caught Asuka's gaze upon him and he turned to face her grinning.

"Who's the one peeking?" he asked her.

She blushed embarrassed and looked away. Of course Shinji used this opportunity to take a full view of her body. 'Mmhmm just as I remember, god that body was carved by angels I swear.' Her large breasts bounced up and down slightly as she walked, mesmerising Shinji. The young boy quickly snapped out of it grateful for the chance to peek without injury. He would not risk it just for a longer glance. Asuka had returned her gaze forward just as he turned away. 'Phew that was close.'

They reached the end of the hallway and the access point into their entry plugs. The three eva pilots entered their respective entry plugs and closed the hatch. LCL filled their entry plugs and all three pilots inhaled the liquid. As the entry plugs were lowered so began their sync tests.

"Lower plug depth to the last sync test setting" said Ritsuko.

"Hai" said Maya.

The three faces on the screen were impassive as they concentrated on synching. As the entry plugs were lowered Asuka's face changed slightly before resuming its look of concentration.

"Stop Asuka's plug but continue with Shinji's"

As Shinji's entry plug was lowered to the last sync test depth Ritsuko began calculating data. The sound of typing was heard throughout the lab as Ritsuko and Maya did their work.

"What's the results?" said Misato impatiently after a while.

"Rei is at 60 much higher than usual" said Maya.

"What about the others?" asked Misato.

"Working on it, their sync ratios seems to be fluctuating from around 70 to 90 percent and we are waiting for a stable result" she replied.

"Lower Asuka's plug further" said Ritsuko.

Asuka's entry plug was lowered further and her sync ratio slowly became more stable. Shinji's sync ratio seemed to start stabilising also.

"Shinji's ratio has finally stabilised at 91.2, Asuka's is still fluctuating"

The technicians waited patiently while analysing all data for Asuka's sync ratio to become apparent. Asuka on the other hand was having a hard time synching with her eva, being a couple months different the eva took a while to re-adjust.

"Asuka's sync ratio has finally stabilised at 99.9"

"What? How is that possible?" asked Misato in disbelief.

"Magi concludes there is a 0.000000001 percent chance of the data being wrong, we all know what the 'o' nine means. This data is accurate"

"Shinji, Asuka great news" said Misato through the comms.

Both Shinji and Asuka opened their eyes looking at Misato's face on the viewscreen expectantly.

"Well go ahead and tell us" said Asuka impatiently.

"Shinji your sync ratio is at 91.2 not much lower than what it was the last time and Asuka your sync ratio is at an amazing 99.9 and as always you are in the lead. It would seem your current state has not affected your sync ratio"

Asuka smiled smugly.

"Was there any ever doubt at my superior skill?" she said arrogantly.

Suddenly alarms sounded and the screens were soon covered with 'Error.'

"What's wrong Ritsuko?" asked Misato worried.

"Plug pressure in Asuka's vessel is too high! Quickly raise her entry plug"

Asuka eyes went wide with fear as she passed out from the immense pressure. Her entry plug as well as the other two were quickly raised up.

"Opening hatches now!" called out Ritsuko.

At once LCL poured out into the hallway as the entry plugs were emptied. Shinji jumped out and quickly ran over to Asuka's vessel and pulled her out. He held the naked girl in his arms and shook her in an attempt to wake her up.

"Come on Asuka wake up!" he said desperately.

The redhead stirred slowly and opened her eyes finding the concerned face of Shinji. The young boy noticed her return to consciousness and smiled happily.

"Its alright, she woke up" he called out.

Everyone at command sighed in relief.

"Alright, that will conclude our sync tests for today. We must fix the problem so it does not happen again before we can resume any further sync tests" said Ritsuko over the P.A.

The redhead became self-conscious of her position. She was stark naked and being held up by Shinji who was also naked.

"Are you ok Asuka?" he asked.

He received a large hand-shaped mark on his cheek as his answer.

"Let go of me you perverted hentai! I will not stand by while you violate me"

Everyone, even Rei, sweat dropped and felt a little sympathy towards the young boy. Shinji let her down, while Asuka was blushing furiously. She quickly covered herself with her arms.

"You were unconscious Asuka, I was only checking if you were ok"

"Bull shit! You wanted to sneak a peek, well you're _not _getting anymore peeks"

Shinji just rolled his eyes at her behaviour.

"Alright Asuka I'll go first" he said shaking his head. The young boy turned around and begun to walk down the hallway towards the exit.

"Shinji was only concerned about your well-being pilot Souyru, there is no need to be angry with him" said Rei.

"Shutup Rei, if I wanted _your_ opinion I would just buy a doll and pull its string"

SLAP! Asuka looked shocked as she felt the sting of Shinji's hand on her cheek.

"You have no right to say such a thing about Rei, Asuka. She has improved if you haven't noticed, but you're still the same bitch" he said.

"Why you-" Asuka started.

"Your arrogance never ceases to amaze me" said Shinji interrupting her. He turned around and walked off not looking back.

The redhead just looked at the retreating form of the young boy in stunned silence. Never would she be questioned, never would she be ignored but this boy had done both. She gritted her teeth in anger, she hated how much his words affected her. Why couldn't she just shrug off what he said? Why did it hurt her to hear it coming from him? The redhead broke out of her stupor and began walking down the hallway towards the exit. The P.A. was silent as she traversed down the hallway. Shinji's words kept repeating in her head _…you're still the same bitch…your arrogance never ceases to amaze me…_

'Why should it matter if he thinks I'm a bitch? He's just a perverted baka who's probably having an affair with Rei or something, what the hell does he see in her…'

She continued to sulk until she reached the exit. Her body was cleaned by the automatic cleaning system and she dressed into her clothes. The elevator went back down to the eva cages and she exited her cubicle.

"Shinji the commander has requested your presence, go see him now" said Misato over the P.A.

Asuka just swore loudly in German. She noticed Shinji running off in the direction of the elevators. The young boy had not seen her and she decided to follow him. The young girl was quite curious as to what the commander had to say to him and not to her. Besides she was still angry at Shinji. Asuka waited out of sight until Shinji entered the elevator. She then quickly ran down the corridor and entered the second elevator. She pressed the floor number for the commander's office and the elevator began its ascent.

She tapped her heels impatiently as the elevator moved slowly as always. Finally the elevator reached the level and Asuka stood at the door ready to walk through. She jumped back in surprise as she saw the amused expression of Shinji Ikari.

"I knew it was you" he said smiling.

"How did you-?"

"When I reached this level I noticed the other elevator had begun to move to this level also and I was curious as to who would have followed me"

"I just wanted to know what the commander was going to tell you" she said indignantly.

"Look Asuka about before, I know you hate it but…I'm sorry, I'm genuinely sorry. I shouldn't have hit you"

She looked at him curiously. "Honestly Ikari, I don't know where you got the courage to confront me like that and why do you even care about what I say about Rei?"

"She is a human, well half human, as well. She has feelings, she's just a little different from others. Anyways I've decided upon your favour"

"Oh?" she said raising her eyebrow at him.

"I want you to stop insulting Rei, stop calling her a doll or wondergirl"

"What? You're gonna waste my favour on that?"

Shinji just laughed at Asuka's remark.

"You are so unbelievable Asuka, yes I'm gonna 'waste' it on that"

"Ok fine, but I still get to call her wondergirl"

"Only to me"

"Fine"

Shinji turned around ready to begin walking to the commander's office.

"You like her don't you? Why don't you just have sex already or something?" Asuka said.

Shinji faced Asuka again shaking his head.

"I most definitely do _not_ like Rei in that way nor do I wish to sleep with her"

"Bull crap! Prove it to me right now or the deal is off!"

Shinji grabbed Asuka and kissed her hard on the lips. She stood there stunned as the boy began to kiss her deeply. Finally comprehending what was happening the redhead shoved him off her.

"There's your proof Asuka" he said walking off.

The redhead contemplated the young boy's actions. He hadn't hesitated at all, not even slightly, maybe he really didn't feel that way about Rei. But still why did he care about her? More importantly why did she care about Shinji's likes or dislikes. 'When we get home I'll be sure to give Shinji what he deserves, there's no way I'll let him get away with that.'

Asuka quickly went after Shinji and walked beside him. She wondered why Shinji had not stayed angry at her and wondered even more why she hadn't stayed angry at him either. Dismissing her thoughts the two eva pilots walked to the commander's office together. The two hesitated momentarily before Shinji reached out and opened the door. The two teens walked into the darkness of the commander's office, blinking to adjust their eyes. The commander sat in his usual pose at the desk and looked down upon them.

"I requested to see the pilot of Unit 01 only, why are you here Pilot Souyru?"

"Anything concerning a fellow eva pilot, concerns me"

"While you are right that the matter to be discussed concerns you, you do not have the privelage of being an audience to the discussion. Dismissed"

Asuka looked at the commander in disbelief. She stayed where she was in defiance.

"Did I not make myself clear Pilot Souyru? Do not make me repeat myself"

"Yes sir" she said turning around and exiting the office.

After hearing the door close the commander turned his attention to his son.

"I have brought you here to discuss a very important matter, given the nature of the second child you would do well to listen"

"What exactly do you want to discuss?' Shinji asked confused.

The commander allowed a small smile to form on his usually cold expression.

"It has come to my attention that the relationship between you and the second child has ended due to her loss of memory"

"That is correct sir" said Shinji wondering how he had found out.

"However your sync ratios are still high at the moment and I have decided on a course of action that should prove to be beneficial"

"I'm listening" replied Shinji.

* * *

Asuka waited outside in irritation, she had tried several times to listen in on the conversation, but alas the door was soundproof. 'Stupid commander, who does he think he is? The saviour of the world?' Then she thought about it, he actually was in a way. 'Well it still doesn't give him the right to order me out like that.' She sighed as she knew she now was being kept from another secret.

She paced around wondering how long it could possibly take for them to finish their discussion. "I bet they're arguing if I look better in a swimsuit or a bikini" she said aloud to herself. Someone behind her laughed and Asuka jumped startled. The redhead turned around to see her guardian walking up to her.

"What are you doing here Misato?" Asuka asked.

"I could ask you the same thing" she replied.

"I think my presence here is self-explanatory however your's is not"

"I couldn't find you Asuka so I came here to see if you went here. I'll be taking us back to the apartment after the commander and Shinji have finished"

"They've been at it for a while" commented Asuka. "But doesn't our apartment have a dead guy as well as a half exploded room?"

"Not to worry, it has all been cleaned and fixed up. Your room is back to normal and no trace is left of what happened"

"Good"

The two girls waited outside the commander's office in silence for Shinji to finish. After a while the door finally opened and out emerged Shinji with a surprised look on his face.

"What did the commander say?" asked Asuka.

"Its not important. Oh hey Misato"

"Hey Shinji, we're going back to the apartment now and don't worry it has all been cleaned up"

"Good we've already spent too much time here" he said.

Asuka did not like how he had just brushed her off but stayed silent, she already knew he wasn't going to tell her. The three roommates made their way to the elevator, glad that they could finally leave. Today had been quite hectic and incident after incident had left the three quite exhausted. They entered the elevator and Misato pressed the floor number where she had left the car. The elevator began its long journey down through the depths of Nerv.

"So have you two made up already? I heard the argument back outside the sync room"

"No I plan to give Shinji what he deserves when we return to the apartment and then I _might_ consider forgiving him"

Shinji sweat dropped while Misato snickered quietly, she wondered how in the hell these two ended up in love. The elevator continued its descent as the occupants continued to converse about the day's happenings. Many laughs and bitter remarks were shared as the small family made fun of the other. After the elevator reached their floor the doors opened and the three roommates exited.

"And Asuka peeked on me, can you believe it? After all that she accused me of, she peeked on me" said Shinji.

"I did not! I was merely looking in that direction, as if I would ever want to look at you!" rebuked Asuka.

"Sounds like denial" said Misato laughing.

"No way I saw enough of him yesterday when he-" she said stopping before she incriminated herself any further.

Shinji blushed embarrassed, but was surprised she had seen his member. Though he didn't really think she could have missed it.

"Oh? What were you two doing yesterday?" asked Misato curious.

"Nothing like that" said Shinji trying to stop the way the conversation was heading.

Misato let it slide this time. "Ok"

"Let's go home already" said Asuka impatiently.

They all began to walk to Misato's car. This part of Nerv was unusually quiet as they traversed the long metal corridors. The trio walked the whole trip in silence as none of them could think of something to say and they were also quite tired. As they arrived at Misato's car the two eva pilots both sat in the back seat this time. The car began rising up as it was slowly brought up to the surface. Asuka turned to Shinji and whispered in his ear.

"Do not ever kiss me again without my permission you hear? We are doing it only for the play"

"You asked for proof, so I gave it" he whispered back.

"At least warn me or something you baka"

The car finally reached the surface and Misato drove out of Nerv and towards their apartment. Now that Misato wanted to get back she drove her usual way, rendering it impossible for the two charges to communicate any further. 'Schiesse why did they send an assassin to kill me when Misato could do the job for them.' It had become really dark as much time had passed in Nerv. However the night sky was not illuminated with the usual presence of the moon as it was covered by clouds. Fortunately they arrived safely at their apartment and the two teens were quick to exit the car.

The three roommates entered the apartment and took the stairs to their door as they were sick of elevators at the moment. Upon opening their door they were relieved to finally be back at home. Asuka checked her room indeed finding it in perfect condition.

"Don't make me supper I'll be going to bed now" said Misato tiredly to Shinji.

"Sure thing mum…err I mean Misato"

Misato turned to face him and smiled slightly. "You can call me mum if you want to"

"Goodnight" he said.

Misato turned around and went off to her room. Asuka snuck up behind Shinji and jabbed her fingers into his waist. He jumped up in surprise and pain.

"Good old electric shock" she said smirking.

"A-Asuka"

"So where did mum go?" she asked innocently.

Shinji blushed. "You heard that?"

"You are so pathetic baka"

"You want supper?" he said changing the subject.

"Sure I am quite hungry, I don't think I've eaten anything today"

"Alright then it won't take long just sit down at the table"

Asuka sat down at the dining table while Shinji went into the kitchen to prepare a quick late night meal. After a few minutes of preparing Shinji had finished their meals and set them down on the table. He sat down opposite Asuka and both eva pilots began eating their meals quietly. Shinji thought over today's happenings, he couldn't believe he had actually slapped her, though truth be told it had hurt him way more due to slapping her with his injured hand. Then he had kissed her, it had seemed the perfect thing to do and it did work. Plus her punishment wasn't anything dreadful so he supposed it hadn't been a bad idea.

The young boy looked up at her and wondered how much he had progressed. Though he knew she had warmed up to him a bit, this was only due to a little more courage and confidence and therefore less of the wimpy Shinji she disliked. Other than that she still behaved as usual and any effort to crack her were met with equal force. And so with this conclusion plus the advice he was given Shinji decided to take on a different and risky approach which would hopefully start tomorrow.

The redhead finished her meal, placed her dish in the sink and moved off to her room. Shinji remembered what he was supposed to do today but was too tired. He could distribute the clean clothes tomorrow if nothing happened. After finishing his meal he placed his dish in the sink and proceeded to his room. He switched off the lights and lay down on his bed. Both eva pilots were extremely tired and so went off to sleep quite swiftly. Asuka felt a little happy that tomorrow she would get to see Hikari…

* * *

End Notes: Now I will say now I really don't have much of an idea what goes on in sync tests. However from what I've seen in watching the anime they are not actually inserted into the eva for synch training, and they're always talking about lowering the plug depth which I have no clue what is about so I tried my best to simulate what would happen. If someone could clarify what precisely happens or even just tell me if I did it correctly or incorrectly it would be appreciated. And of course move your mouse down and press the button Submit Review as always :D.


	14. Back To School Again

Author's Notes: Whoa this is definitely the longest chapter I've written, and it sure did take long to write too. Everything is starting to come together now. Now this fic is mainly meant to be concentrating on Shinji and Asuka, but after reading a review I see that sometimes a character's change in behaviour is unexplained or not backed up with some character development and so I have added a little cutscene about Rei.

Now about harmonics and sync tests, well I thought they were the same thing since being in synch with and being in harmony with is the same thing, however I could be wrong. Anyways if I'm wrong one of my reviewers answered the question and so if u didn't read it I'll write it here 'the harmonic test, just clarification, they're in a simulation body, not exactly an eva, but they're in something similar to eva, just as big, u get the idea, sync tests aren't in the eva, they're in a large room filled like, halfway with what looks like lcl.' But anyway thanks Justanotherguyathiscomputer or the bunny or whatever, I don't mind answering your questions, your reviews make me laugh every time.

About Re-take there are more similarities than that however I am not ruining the manga for future readers and so will not point them out and give away the story. Anyways enjoy this next chapter.

* * *

Chapter 14: Back To School Again

"Good morning commander"

Gendo Ikari looked down at the man a little surprised.

"Ah I wasn't aware you were still alive. What is your business?"

"I have come to ask on the situation of the second and third children"

The commander gave a slight smile and moved his hands to shift his glasses.

"I see, very well. The third child is the same however the second child has lost her memory right up to after the 12th angel"

"I see…then my services may still prove to be useful"

"My thoughts exactly" said the commander now looking down at the person with an amused expression.

"However there is something else that bothers me" said the person.

"I'm listening"

"The scenario depicts the last angel was meant to be the fifth child sent by Seele, however, as far as I can see the pilot of Unit 02 is still capable. How does Seele manage to bring about instrumentality?"

"I suspect they will try something totally unexpected, however this is not of any concern at the moment. And so if you have no further business you may leave"

"Yes sir"

The person left leaving the commander alone in his dark office.

"I hope you help him," said the commander.

* * *

_The young redheaded girl rang the doorbell; she had a sad look about her covered by a mask of anger. She waited for her friend to open the door._

"_Asuka? It's almost time for me to start going to school did you want to walk with me? Where's Shinji?"_

_At the mention of his name the redhead seemed to grow even more miserable._

"_Hikari, please can I stay here I really don't feel like going to school today. I don't want to see Shinji either"_

"_What's wrong Asuka?" asked Hikari concerned._

"_If you wouldn't mind I don't feel like talking about it"_

"_It's ok Asuka. You can definitely stay, I'll even stay home with you"_

"_Thanks Hikari you're a good friend"_

"_No problem now please get inside I'll make you something to eat after I show you to my room"_

"_Yes I would like that"_

_The young girl entered her friend's house and found solace in the warm atmosphere inside. Hikari's parents were asleep but a few of her sisters were up and looked at the guest with curiosity._

"_This is my friend Asuka, we'll be staying in my room so tell mum and dad before they go to work so they know where I am" Hikari said to her sisters._

"_Okay Hikari" one of her sisters answered._

_The redhead followed Hikari to her room taking in the details of the house. It was much bigger than their apartment, but then again much more people lived here. It was quite an ordinary house, the walls painted a nice pale green and the architecture simple but elegant. However the house contained a friendly environment and it made Asuka feel a little more at ease. _

_After entering her room the redhead sat down on Hikari's bed. Hikari closed her door and turned to face Asuka._

"_Look you don't have to tell me what happened or anything but answer me one question," said Hikari._

_The eva pilot looked up. "Alright" she replied._

"_Is it to do with Shinji?" Hikari asked._

_Slowly the redhead nodded…_

"Yeeaaaahhhh!"

The redhead groaned as she woke up to Misato's shout. She silently cursed Misato for waking her up. Asuka then thought about what she had just experienced. She had gone to Hikari's house to skip school due to something that had happened concerning Shinji. She was absolutely sure this is what they had been hiding from her and was extremely annoyed her dream had yet again been interrupted. However now that she knew, she could confront Shinji and if he weaseled out of it, Hikari would know. The young girl smiled, she would find out for sure this time.

A pleasant aroma wafted into her room and she suspected Shinji had started making breakfast. Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard the frantic cries of Shinji trying to calm down Misato. She wanted to get as much rest as possible so she decided to stay in bed until one of her roommates decided to get her. Even though her room had been cleaned and fixed, because of the explosion some of her furniture had been replaced. Added to that some of her things were destroyed in the process. However thankfully most of her clothes had been in the wash and Shinji had not distributed them yet.

She sighed annoyed at how most of her stationery had been destroyed and decided to go to Shinji's room and loot his drawer later. 'So troublesome, it seems everything bad happens to me. Memory loss, an assassination attempt, what next? My eva self-destructs?' Suddenly a large laugh broke out followed by some incoherent mumbling who she suspected was coming from Shinji.

"What in God's name are they doing?" she said aloud.

"Misato! Asuka's breasts are just fine!" shouted Shinji embarrassed.

'What the?' thought the young girl confused.

"Because Asuka is more than just a pretty girl, she has a hundred times more depth and intelligence. She taught me how to be stronger and how to persevere, she is irreplaceable" Shinji said a little less louder.

'Damn straight, but what in the hell are they talking about?' thought the redhead as she got out of bed. The young girl stealthily made her way to the kitchen so that she was in hearing range of the conversation. She noticed Shinji had stopped preparing breakfast and was currently facing Misato, while Misato was sipping some beer at the dining table looking somewhat amused.

"Alright Shinji no need to get so defensive, we all know Asuka's a great girl, but surely she is proving to be extremely difficult"

"It doesn't matter I-"

"Shhh" said Misato interrupting him "We have a mouse listening in on us"

Asuka looked at Misato shocked, wondering how she had noticed her. But Misato had looked in the complete opposite direction. Asuka followed Misato's line of sight and saw a figure in the window disappear abruptly. 'So she didn't notice me after all, but who was that?'

"Alright Shinji you finish making breakfast already, Asuka will be up soon, I'll investigate this eavesdropper. Funny though I thought the person had something familiar about him…"

'It couldn't be…?' Shinji thought.

The young boy turned his attention back to preparing breakfast as Asuka silently cursed whatever divine power was out there that was always interrupting vital information. Misato got up and rushed out the door, determined to catch the listener before he got away. Asuka decided to make her presence known as she was getting hungry and she wanted to confront Shinji about this morning's dream and the conversation he just had with Misato. The young girl got up and walked into the kitchen sneaking up behind Shinji. She grabbed Shinji's ear and painfully pulled it eliciting a sharp cry of pain from the boy.

"I am very curious as to why my breasts were in discussion this morning," said Asuka sweetly.

"A-Asuka, you heard all that?" he asked.

"You did shout it out Shinji" she said increasing her grip on his ear.

"Ow Ow, alright I'll tell you, just let go of my ear"

Reluctantly the redhead released his ear from her grasp and the young boy nursed his ear, which was now an angry red. Shinji turned to face her and noticed she was looking at him with her smug face. Her red hair hung loosely about her, the expression she had making her appear really cute. Her gorgeous blue eyes were focused on him with a somewhat amused look. Shinji couldn't help getting lost once again in her magnificence. However it seemed Asuka was growing impatient and knocked him on the head.

"Stop gawking at me and tell me already" she said irritated.

"Misato was just teasing me as usual, comparing your chest with hers and asking me very strange questions. She might be jealous of your good looks," he said grinning.

"Oh really? While I'm glad you deem my breasts worthy" she said sarcastically "you are just one really perverted baka honestly. That wasn't all you said either, not that I mind the compliment about my superior personality and intelligence, however you must have been discussing more than my good looks"

Shinji just looked at her with a bemused expression. 'Why did I have to shout that out?'

"Where you by any chance discussing the effects of thermal expansion?" she said smirking.

Shinji let out a small laugh as he remembered the day he was doing homework and Asuka had come over to see what he was doing. Then she had teased him about whether thermal expansion would make her breasts bigger or not. Back then he had been extremely embarrassed, but now that he thought about it, it looked like Asuka had been flirting with him.

"Misato was just concerned on how I was managing with you, after all we're not the two best people at getting along. But I was just telling her I was managing just fine, I mean we've had a few fights but we're already over them" Shinji explained.

"Misato should just keep her nose in her own business, my dealings with you are not of her concern…"

Shinji didn't dare point out the fact that Misato was their guardian and had a right to know.

"…But Shinji I'm surprised you actually defended me, I wonder how I fixed you up so much" Asuka finished.

"But of course the Great Asuka can do anything if she puts her mind to it" said Shinji trying not to laugh.

"That goes without saying" she said smiling arrogantly, "alright I'm hungry, finish making breakfast"

The young girl sat down at the dining table while Shinji returned to his interrupted work once again. He was surprised he hadn't ruined the meal yet; he supposed he did have some skill in cooking after all, even with an injured hand. Asuka stretched in her chair as she waited for Shinji to finish. The morning sun was shining brightly through the window, today seemed like it would be a great day. As Shinji completed breakfast he set down the food on the table feeling Asuka's exuberance.

"You sure seem lively this morning Asuka" Shinji said to her.

"Yeah spending this whole weekend with you has been so depressing," she said grinning mischievously, "I actually started to miss school, I'm happy to finally go back today and talk to Hikari"

The young boy sat down at the table. There was something else, like she had won a secret game they were playing or something. The redhead started eating her meal, the young boy watched her, always fascinated at the way she ate. She looked up and caught his gaze. He instantly looked away but she had noticed and flicked him on the forehead.

"Stop staring at me you hentai baka, regardless if no guy can resist looking at me"

"Why?"

"Eh?" she said looking at him, not expecting him to question her. The two of them focused on each other, wondering what the other was thinking.

"I was gone for only a few minutes and you two are already looking at each other with love-love expressions"

Both eva pilots blushed red. "WHAT?" shouted Asuka turning to Misato, who was having trouble keeping a straight face.

"Sorry did I interrupt your game? Were you about to play 'hide the salami'?"

"You are treading on thin ice Misato," said the redhead warningly.

Shinji had no clue what Misato was talking about; surely hiding a salami was a pointless game, why in the world would they play it?

"What are you talking about Misato? What has hiding a salami got to do with anything?"

Misato burst out laughing and Asuka turned to face him with a disbelieving expression on her face.

"How can you not know what it means? Doesn't Kensuke teach you about that stuff? More importantly you are so perverted you should know straight away just by how it sounds"

Shinji just looked at her cluelessly. Asuka just sighed irritated.

"How can you be so dumb? Look I'm sure that strumpet over there can give you accurate detail on what she implied"

"Hey!" said Misato glaring at Asuka. She turned to face Shinji, "now Shinji when you think of a salami, using a perverted context what comes into mind?"

"Well umm…a male's private part"

"Precisely, now what ways are there of 'hiding' it?"

"It's hidden at the moment" he answered.

Asuka sniggered silently; this was so amusing to watch.

"Ok if you had no clothes on and a naked girl next to you, how _else_ could you hide it?"

Shinji's eyes widened as he realised. He had played this game with Asuka _many_ times.

"You don't mean…?" he started. Then he grinned cheekily "ah but we couldn't have because I wouldn't fit"

Two pairs of jaws dropped to the floor, Misato just stood there with her mouth agape. Asuka looked at the young boy shocked as her face turned red.

"You stupid hentai, don't make such bold statements! You are not _that_ big"

"Oh so you've already tested it?" asked Shinji.

Asuka blushed. "No I have not! But I know for a fact that you would fit in me-" she snapped her mouth shut. 'What the hell am I saying?'

"There's only one way to find out," said Shinji grinning.

"You keep your perverted fantasies in your head!" she shouted at him, slapping him as hard as she could.

Suddenly a loud noise took the attention of the two teens as they looked to the source. They found Misato had collapsed to the floor; she had passed out from lack of oxygen from laughing too much. Both eva pilots sweat dropped at their guardian.

"Eh just leave her there, she'll come to" said Asuka.

"Ok"

"Anyways Shinji I wanted to discuss something"

"Go ahead"

"I remembered something else in the past that you have 'forgotten' to mention"

"Oh?"

"I had gone to Hikari's house to skip school because something had happened between me and you, however I could not remember what had happened only that it concerned you"

Shinji looked at her surprised, that incident was the one memory he most wanted her to forget, well that and the rape. This was tough, he couldn't tell her that she walked in on him and Rei, because that wouldn't justify her skipping school, she wouldn't have cared that much. Furthermore if she told Hikari it was even more troublesome, he hadn't even thought of the possibility of Hikari knowing. Now that he thought about it again, he hadn't come up with an idea for preventing Asuka asking questions about the past. At Shinji's lack of response the redhead spoke up.

"I _know_ this is what you haven't been telling me all this time, I've already figured out most of it, a few questions to Hikari and I can find out the rest. But save me the trouble and just tell me yourself"

Shinji almost smiled, it was perfect. If he could come up with something good now she would stop in her efforts to find out about the past, presuming that this event was what he had been hiding. Furthermore with a little manipulation he could stop her from asking questions about the past. It was killing two birds with one stone.

"Alright Asuka, I'll tell you what I've been hiding from you. However if I tell you, in return you must act as if you haven't lost your memory at school"

"What? Why?"

"Because it will be very troublesome for everyone if they find out you lost your memory, it will be a lot easier on everyone including you if you just pretend nothing happened"

"But that's an outrageous demand, how am I supposed to do that? What if they mention or ask something and I have no clue"

"Improvise. I'll also help you out a bit too"

"I could just ask Hikari, why should I even consider this third child?"

"You might not have even told her plus if you did she won't know the full story. This is your only chance Asuka, if you don't agree to this I will never tell you what happened"

The young girl seemed to think it over, she finally had her chance at finding out the information kept from her, plus it wasn't like she couldn't pretend to not have forgotten anything, Shinji did fill her in on a lot of details. She weighed up the two options and sighed in defeat, he was right that Hikari might not even know and she couldn't take that risk.

"Alright I agree, you tell me right now what happened," she said.

"Ok I will, just don't kill me when I tell you"

"What did you do?" she said curious.

"Well you see…" he said twiddling his thumbs, "how do I say this…"

"Use your mouth Shinji, I've already answered that stupid question before"

"Me Kensuke and Toji were arguing whether or not you had a good side to you or not. I was defending you saying that you had some good moments, however Kensuke and Toji wanted proof"

"Let me guess…you agreed?"

"Yes I thought for sure I could prove it to them. Then one night I asked you to watch television with me late at night and you agreed"

"So what?"

"I'm getting to it. It was late at night and we were sitting on the couch together. We were both tired you see and-"

"Get to the freaking point"

"I snuggled up to you a bit, but I suspect you were too tired to care. Anyways I asked if you liked me. You giggled and called me a baka saying that I was so dense. You said I understood you more than anyone else, since I'm an eva pilot, also that I live with you almost every day so I know your true personality, not like the boys at school just interested in your body"

Asuka listened quietly as the young boy continued the revelation.

"Then you said that of course you liked me better than other guys, except Kaji of course, that was all"

"And?" said Asuka starting to grow impatient at his frequent pauses.

"What happened next is, well we fell asleep on the couch together. Misato happened to come back home this night and took a picture of us snuggled up together. Misato showed me the picture in the morning and I scanned and sent it to Kensuke and Toji giving them the proof they desired"

"WHAT? How could you do that? How could you trust them? They would have just spread it around the school and a hundred rumours would have started"

"Your thoughts exactly back then. You got real pissed at me, also because I didn't ask your permission either. I just wanted to prove to them I was right and didn't think about the consequences at all. You left the house to go to Hikari's. You didn't want to go to school because of what could happen and you didn't want to see me because you were angry at me and a little sad that I had betrayed you"

"I do find all this hard to believe, I do remember I felt sad and angry so I guess that's right. I would have stayed away from you and school to prevent any rumours or embarrassment occurring so that seems right too. But we snuggled up together on the couch? You'll have to show me this photo first before I believe that. Plus why would you have been sad that I had forgotten this incident?"

"I was sad that you had forgotten all your memories. There were a few other incidents were you warmed up to me a bit not just that confession. It's impossible to just tell you we became better friends so let's act like that. I wanted to recreate our friendship"

"So _that's _the understanding we reached, of course you would show me more affection after that and I totally agree with your point, I can understand why you wouldn't tell me. But how come Misato knows about this?"

"If you're talking about the incident of course she knew. You blew off at her for taking the photo and showing it to me. If you mean our getting along better, she's our guardian she would have noticed our change in behaviour"

Asuka digested all the information, it did fit and she suspected after living with the same person for a while she would eventually get along better. It was a few months after all. She would have been sad if Hikari forgot she was her friend so she understood what Shinji meant precisely. It also explained Shinji's change in character; she definitely would have fixed him up good in a few months.

"Alright Ikari I won't kill you but I still want to see that photo"

"I can get it right now"

"Go on then," she said impatiently.

The young boy walked off to his room, his made up story was a bit dodgy but it held. He sighed in relief at managing that, he really had no clue what to say and was making it up as he went along. But after showing her the photo he was sure she would be convinced. There was only one flaw in his plan and that was Hikari, if she had told her then he was done for. However it was a risk that he thought was justified due to the fact that Asuka usually didn't share her problems, she kept them to herself.

Soon the boy entered his room and moved to his drawer. He opened his drawer and took out the photo of him and Asuka. He smiled slightly as he looked at it; Asuka looked so cute when she was asleep. The young boy closed the drawer and exited his room returning to the kitchen. Asuka was waiting there quietly pondering something, however when he entered the kitchen she was broken out of her trance.

"Here it is," he said handing it to her.

The redhead took the photo from Shinji and her eyes widened in shock. There was no doubt about it, she could clearly see her and Shinji snuggled up to each other on the couch and the photo was real. She handed the photo back to Shinji.

"I do think you're more decent than most guys so I can believe that I had said what I said, but you can't think I was getting onto you or anything I must have just been too sleepy to realise"

"Asuka I never assumed anything"

"Good, you tell your two stooges not to do anything with that photo then. I _may_ forgive you if nothing eventuates out of this. I'm still going to ask Hikari about this, but that photo is definitely real. Well we best get ready for school," she said walking off to her room.

Shinji sat back down at the table and finished his breakfast; he was finally free from Asuka's constant prying. Now he could focus more on getting back together with her rather than trying to avoid revealing the past. He looked down at the still unconscious Major on the floor and shook his head. As he finished his meal he went over to Misato and brought her back to this plane of existence.

"You ok Misato?" asked Shinji.

"Yeah I'm fine, been a while since I laughed like that"

"Misato did you find out who was listening in on us?"

"No I couldn't catch the person, but no worries we weren't discussing anything that important"

The young boy returned to the kitchen and placed the already prepared lunches on the table. He then proceeded to his room to change into his school uniform. It felt like it had been forever since the last time he was at school. He placed the photo of him and Asuka back into his drawer and looked at his clock; it was almost time to leave.

"Baka hurry up already we gotta go soon!" shouted Asuka as if on cue.

Shinji took his bag, exited his room and returned to the dining room to pack his lunch into his bag. Misato was sitting down at the dining table, now sipping another beer. At the sight of Shinji she waved to him.

"You not going to Nerv today?" he asked.

"No I'm staying home today. I'll be here when you get back"

"Alright, bye Misato"

He then joined Asuka at the door who was pacing impatiently.

"Finally you slow poke," she said grabbing his hand and pulling him along.

"Ouch Asuka, not that hand please"

The redhead let go of his hand and grabbed the other one as she pulled him down the stairs. It seemed she really wanted to get to school. Asuka barged through the sea of people like a plow as they rushed to get to school.

"Asuka we really don't need to rush" Shinji said.

She turned to face him glaring and he instantly shut up, letting himself be pulled along. In record time they reached the front gates of their school and Asuka applied her brakes, creating deep scorch marks in the ground. Shinji quietly pondered how she had been moving so fast on foot. Once again the pair entered the school together, they had arrived early thanks to Asuka and he suspected she wanted to see Hikari.

Students were still out and about outside chatting; some were heading inside the school. The two eva pilots entered the school building and proceeded to their classroom. On the way they noticed many posters promoting the musical concert to be held at school and performed by students. The two roommates entered their classroom when they arrived. Hikari was always at school early and so Asuka happily walked over to the class rep.

"Hikari, it feels like I haven't seen you in a while"

"Hey Asuka, I was worried about you. Together with the angel battle, the incident last week and being away on Friday, I was wondering if you were ok"

"Of course I'm ok I'm the Great Souyru Asuka Langley," she said proudly.

Hikari giggled, "Well what happened before? Have you already made up with Shinji?"

It was as Asuka had expected she hadn't told the class rep what had happened. Guess it was lucky she had agreed to Shinji's demand.

"Well that is yet to see, today he's going to meet up with the other two stooges and prevent anything bad occurring. But it wasn't that big a deal in the end, thanks for taking me in Hikari"

"No problem" Hikari said smiling. "So why weren't you here on Friday?"

"Just recovering from injuries in the angel battle, Shinji also. Sorry for worrying you but you could have called"

"I didn't want to disturb you. I thought something might have happened and was waiting till today"

"Well everything's ok"

"Glad to hear it Asuka. Oh I just gotta go finish something. I'll be back in a second"

Hikari walked off and Shinji moved over to Asuka.

"And? Did she know?"

"Nope, you were right. Well Hikari is still pretty much how I remember her so that's ok, but I'm curious as to how the other two stooges are. I mean Rei acted way different than usual I'm half expecting Toji to be intelligent"

Shinji snickered a little.

"What is that supposed to mean?" said a voice.

Asuka turned around to face the jock smiling smugly.

"You know precisely what I mean, you are so dumb you'd get lost in an elevator"

"Yeah well you're so bitchy you look like a cat," said Toji.

Shinji visibly cringed. Asuka just shook her head in laughter.

"You prove my point exactly. A bitch is a female dog not a cat, retard," she said arrogantly.

Toji clenched his fists, "Settle down Toji" said Kensuke walking in. "She's not worth it"

"Oh look the other stooge has arrived," said Asuka.

"Yeah she's not worth it she's just a stupid Owww"

"What were you gonna say Suzahara?" said Hikari holding his ear.

"Nothing, nothing let go please"

The class rep released her hold on Toji and he quickly nursed his swollen ear.

"I call a full retreat," said Kensuke signaling to his two other friends.

Together Shinji, Toji and Kensuke moved away from the glaring faces of Hikari and Asuka. When they were out of range of possible reprimand, the trio stopped to talk to each other.

"Yo Shin-man how's it going? Didn't see ya here on Friday" said Toji.

"Yeah we were recovering from the angel battle"

Shinji didn't have to say anything to stop them spreading the photo based on the fact he never gave it to them. However he needed to make it look like he was trying to make sure they didn't, so that Asuka believed he had stopped them. He was proved right as every few moments in the corner of his eye he saw Asuka glance at him momentarily.

"You guys still selling those photos of Asuka?" asked Shinji.

"Why do you want to know?" asked Toji suspiciously.

"Just curious"

"You want one don't you Shinji? Well we still got pics of her in her swimming costume, in sports gear as well as many other types of attire"

"No, no I just want to know how your business is doing," he said defensively. Though in truth he wouldn't have minded to have those pictures.

"Lately our operation has been undermined. Someone is interrupting almost every meeting with our potential clients. Anyway point is we stopped a while ago, as we weren't making any profit," said Kensuke.

"Ah well it's a good thing in a way, Asuka will never find out" said Shinji.

"Maybe everyone has just realised her bitchy personality far outweighs her beauty" said Toji.

"Amen to that!" said Kensuke high-fiving Toji. "Perhaps more attention will be given to Rei now"

"Well now that you mention it Rei came up to me and started a conversation, it seems like she's becoming more umm…sociable" Toji said.

"What did she say?" Shinji asked curious.

"Well it was like this…"

"_Your name is Toji right? You are a friend of Ikari's are you not?" asked Rei._

"_Yes, right on both accounts. How can I help ya Rei?" _

"_I have been observing Ikari's and Souyru's behaviour and I cannot see how their relationship resembles a married couple. But I am not experienced in this area so maybe I am missing something"_

_Toji began to laugh, "Look Rei, I don't think you realised but I was joking when I said they acted like a married couple"_

"_Joking?"_

"_It's when you say something that isn't necessarily true, but it is said to make you laugh"_

"_So you didn't really mean it?"_

"_No of course not, but it made them blush and sure earned a lot of laughter"_

"_I think I understand, thank you for explaining it to me"_

"_No problem, maybe you should try telling a joke it will help you understand the feeling more" _

As Toji finished explaining, Shinji suddenly understood Rei's behaviour yesterday; now that he thought about it, he thought it was kinda funny. Rei was trying to understand human behaviour and emotions. The bell then rang signaling the beginning of class and all students went to sit down at their respective desks. The teacher walked in and Hikari said her customary "Rise! Bow! Sit!"

"Now students I have an announcement to make," the teacher said.

All students quietened down and gave their attention as the teacher spoke up.

"We have a new student transferring into this class, please make her feel welcome"

A small redheaded girl walked into the classroom and wrote her name on the blackboard.

"Hi my name is Aria Swung-Oak, I'm pleased to meet you"

Shinji recognised her immediately and stood up.

"You're that girl in the store, I remember you" he said to her.

The little girl looked at him shocked and remembered the encounter last week when she had been shopping and had suddenly been turned around by him.

"Ah yes you're that cute polite boy, bowing to me so formally" she said giggling.

Shinji blushed at the comment and sat down, the rest of the class casting curious glances at him.

"Anyway she has come from America and has been here since last week and has chosen to learn at this school"

"What's with the weird name?" asked one of the students.

"Don't be rude!" said the teacher "her name is American"

"It's alright, I can explain. Many American names come from England. Most English surnames come from a job they did, for example Fletcher is a surname and it is also a person who makes arrows. My family a long time ago used to cut down oak trees," said Aria.

"Ok now I want to begin the lesson so sit down over there Miss Swung-Oak," he said pointing to an empty desk.

The redheaded girl sat down at her new desk and took out her books and utensils. Asuka looked at the girl curiously, she couldn't recognise her or even jog a memory; she had obviously never seen her before. 'Calling Shinji cute, how stupid is she?' She looked over to Shinji whose attention was currently taken up by masses of messages arriving at his comp. Asuka looked at him amused as he frantically tried to stop the oncoming of messages, it seemed people were curious as to how he knew the new girl.

Shinji finally managed to block all oncoming mail except from Toji, Kensuke and Asuka.

_Yo Shinji you dog how come you never told us about this cutie? Why do you get all the good chicks?_

_Toji_

He quickly typed a message back.

_I met her randomly and it was for only a few seconds, do you tell me about all the people you bump into?_

_I think she likes you Shinji :P, not as hot as Asuka but good enough._

Shinji just sweat dropped at the comment.

_I barely know her._

_I say go for her Mr. Cute polite boy._

Shinji just shook his head. He began typing a message to Kensuke.

_Kensuke in the last angel battle Asuka suffered head trauma and lost her memory, she has forgotten our relationship. Currently she is acting as if she hasn't lost her memory so there isn't a problem you can act as you usually do. I am only telling you this so you don't mention our previous relationship to her._

_Ok cool I understand._

The pilot of Unit 01 relaxed in his chair, he was certain no problems would occur now. He was a little curious at the new student and he had to admit she did look cute. The young boy turned his gaze in her direction to study her. She happened to turn around and catch his gaze. Aria smiled at him warmly before redirecting her attention to the teacher. Shinji looked down at his laptop noticing he had been sent another message.

_Ok third child who is this girl? You never mentioned her to me. _

_I don't know her. I just bumped into her randomly. As soon I left the store I had already forgotten her. _

_Well regardless at least she'll relieve some of the perverted boys attention off me for a while. She even has red hair like me._

The young boy tuned out the teacher's lecture as he waited for the lunch break. Soon enough the bell rang and the students got up ready to go to lunch. Aria made her way to the young eva pilot and tapped him on the shoulder. Shinji turned around surprised to find the little girl there.

"Hi" said Shinji.

"I never got your name, after all you know mine now" she said smiling.

"It's Shinji, Shinji Ikari"

"No way! You're the third child?" she asked astonished.

"Yeah I pilot Unit 01," he said quietly.

"I didn't know they had such a cute boy piloting Unit 01"

Shinji blushed again. "Well you see…" he started.

"Look I'm new to this school, you seem like a nice enough guy can you show me around? I'd love to have lunch with you"

"Yeah sure ok"

Meanwhile Asuka had noticed the exchange and was glaring daggers at the young girl's back. 'She's just using him because he pilots Unit 01, oh what the hell do I care anyway, Shinji can do whatever he wants.' With that the pilot of Unit 02 went off after Hikari to eat lunch, both Toji and Kensuke had mysteriously disappeared, leaving Shinji to deal with the girl by himself. Many other boys cast jealous glances at him but said nothing.

"Well come on already, how long you gonna stand there?" she said eagerly.

"Alright follow me"

The young boy led the exuberant little girl out of the classroom and to the school grounds. The sun shone brightly down on them making Aria's beautiful red hair sparkle radiantly. Shinji showed her all the areas outside the school building and the young girl tagged along enjoying every moment. Soon she motioned towards a tree and the pair sat down in the shade to eat their lunch.

"So how do you like the school?" Shinji asked.

"It's great! Thanks for your help you really are a great guy. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Well err no but…"

"Really? How can you not have a girlfriend, you are such a cute and nice guy"

"No I'm nothing special," he said scratching his head.

"Don't be so modest you only save the whole world in your eva, surely it must be tough. But you do have some help from the other two pilots I guess. Do the other two pilots go to this school as well?"

"Yes, Asuka and Rei both attend this school. Both are very easy to recognise, Asuka has red hair and is the most popular girl in the school. She has a very fiery personality. Rei has blue hair and is very quiet, usually looking out the window during class time"

"Oh so that's Asuka, I saw her almost instantly as she's the only other person with red hair. However I didn't see anyone with blue hair"

"Rei is not here today"

"Hey by any chance when we met in the shop were you looking for Asuka?"

"Yes I was"

"I see it makes sense now. I thought it was kinda funny how you bowed so formally to me, but then again I'm not used to Japanese behaviour"

Shinji began eating his lunch as Aria fell silent. The young girl looked at him curiously taking in all his features and watching how he ate his meal.

"I haven't tried much Japanese food, can I have a try?" she asked.

"Sure" he said offering her some of his food.

The young girl took a bite and smiled happily.

"Mmm delicious, this must be homemade"

"Yeah I cooked it"

"You cooked it? Wow what else can you do? I'm so impressed"

"Really there's no need to compliment me"

"Oh but what's a little praise hurt anyway. By the way I'm a little curious as to how you injured your hand, it looks like more than just a small wound"

"Oh it is, I had a knife go right through my hand in an assassination attempt"

"Whaa? People are trying to kill the saviour of the world? Does it hurt? Can you still write with it or even use it?"

"Yeah I can write, but it starts to hurt after a while. It doesn't hurt unless I use it too much and luckily none of my nerves or anything were damaged so it will recover fully"

"That's good"

Shinji stayed silent and finished his lunch. Aria just lay down on the soft grass lazily enjoying the gentle breeze blowing.

"Do you play an instrument?" she asked randomly.

"Yeah I play the cello, why?" he answered.

"Because I think music is good. Music brings joy and revitalizes the soul. I think that music is the greatest achievement of human culture. I'd love to hear you play one day"

The bell rang and the pair got up and began to walk back to the classroom. Aria held his hand as they walked back. They were getting much attention from many of the students but Shinji didn't have the heart to let go of her hand. They soon arrived at the classroom and they both went to their desks and sat down. As the rest of the class made their way to their desks Shinji looked around for his friends. Toji was giving him the thumbs up, Kensuke was impassive and Asuka seemed a little annoyed.

Hikari said her "Rise! Bow! Sit!" as the teacher entered the room and the class began again. It seemed to Shinji that everyone had their eyes on him and it was making him uncomfortable. Aria was a great girl, Shinji couldn't deny he liked her cheerful attitude and she was beautiful. It also seemed that she liked him, which made it perfect. The young boy looked once again at the new student admiring her form and bright aura. He waited quietly, receiving no messages from anyone, for the class to end.

* * *

The man approached the apartment warily, he hadn't seen her for a while and she thought he was dead. He quietly pondered how to deal with this and considered avoiding the confrontation. However he knew he was needed and so he continued on and entered the apartment taking the stairs to a particular door. His hand momentarily paused as he hesitated to press the doorbell. After strengthening his resolve he pressed the doorbell and the chime rang out inside.

"I'm coming" she called out.

He heard the door unlock before the door was opened. Upon opening the door the woman dropped her beer in shock. It spilt all over the floor and the two looked at each other for a moment.

"Hello Katsuragi"

* * *

Finally the bell rang, signaling the end of school. Shinji got up and exited the classroom. Asuka went up to him and was about to drag him out of school when he was approached yet again by Aria. The young boy just looked at her curiously.

"Thanks for today Shinji, it was great, see you later" she said moving towards him and kissing him on the cheek, she then embraced him warmly before moving away. The young girl ran off down the corridor.

"What is up with that oak tree honestly? She's practically drooling all over you," said Asuka irritated.

"She's a nice girl," he said as they started moving "she's cute and she's got quite a bright personality"

"She seems to have taken an extreme liking to you for only having met you. To me it seems she's just using you or something"

"Asuka, are you showing concern for me?"

"What? No! As if I care. You can do whatever you want, I was just making an observation"

The two eva pilots exited the school building and began walking back to their apartment. As they walked towards their home Asuka spoke up.

"Well what did you and Miss Oak Tree do at lunch?"

"Just call her Aria, and we just talked, why do you ask?"

"Just curious"

"Well how was your first day at school since memory loss?"

"It was fine, Hikari was just as I remember and the school was pretty much the same. It wasn't hard at all acting like nothing had happened. It felt good to have girl talk after these past few days with just you"

Shinji chuckled slightly. "That's good to hear Asuka and you'll also be glad to hear there will be no photo distribution, you are safe from any potential outbreak"

"Thank god, I would have murdered you for sure Ikari"

The pair soon arrived at their apartment and took the stairs to their door. Shinji was surprised to find that the door was not locked, he was sure he had locked it when he left. Did Misato leave and forget? Curiously the young boy opened the door and walked into the room, with Asuka following suit. A strange noise was heard coming from the direction of the bedrooms.

"What in the world?" said Asuka noticing the disarray inside. A few objects had been thrown about and were currently residing on the floor. As they neared the bedrooms they discerned the noise was coming from Misato's bedroom.

"What is that noise?" asked Shinji as the noise got louder. He thought there was something familiar about it.

The two eva pilots approached Misato's bedroom cautiously. Suddenly a scream was let out obviously coming from Misato and Shinji quickly barged through the door.

"Misato-"

Both teens went slack-jawed as they witnessed their guardian playing the game mentioned this morning with Kaji. They quickly covered their eyes and exited the room closing the door behind them. Asuka shuddered involuntarily.

"That was scary, I never want to see that in my life ever again" said Asuka aloud.

"Agreed" said Shinji weakly.

"Well she's definitely a screamer," said Asuka cheekily.

Shinji laughed. "Well so are you"

"And how would you know?" she asked smirking.

"Well you scream at me all the time, why would you stop while making love?"

"You baka" she said shaking her head. "Well anyway either we find a way to drown out this noise or leave the apartment, they're gonna be at it for a while"

"I've got an idea, Aria reminded me of something today"

"Oh?"

"Wait in the living room I'll be there soon"

"Alright"

The young boy went off to his room as Asuka went to the living room and sat down on the couch. She silently wondered what he was planning to do. She tried her best to shut out the incessant passionate noises, but it only seemed to amplify it. Fortunately Shinji returned carrying his cello, she raised her eyebrow slightly at him.

"Aria asked me today if I could play an instrument, and music would definitely drown out Misato and Kaji"

"Go for it"

The young eva pilot sat down on the couch and began playing on his instrument. A soft melody rang throughout the apartment, drowning out the offending racket from Misato's bedroom. Soon Asuka got mesmerised by the music and began to hum softly to the tune. The song was stopped abruptly and Asuka looked at Shinji questioningly.

"You weren't half bad Shinji why did you stop?"

"My hand is killing me, I can't do anything for too long or it starts to hurt"

"Such a wuss" she said rolling her eyes. "But it was a good idea, I'll go get my violin"

_Shinji was looking at her and she was smiling._

"_Why are you looking at me? Have I got something on my face?" she asked._

"_Yeah"_

"_What?"_

"_Your beautiful smile"_

_She blushed._

"_You stop that, you're making me blush"_

"_Alright fine. Hmmm I just thought of something"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_You play the violin right?"_

"_Yeah"_

"_Well perhaps we can play a duet with me on my cello and you on your violin"_

"_That'd be great, maybe you can teach me how to play cello even"_

"_It wouldn't be too hard I guess"_

As she returned from her flashback, she wondered when Shinji became so corny. Maybe this was one of the moments he had been talking about.

"I just remembered you offering to play a duet with me and even teach me to play the cello" said Asuka.

"Ah well, we won't be doing a duet today but I could still teach you cello"

"Well got nothing better to do" she said returning to the couch. She took the cello from Shinji and had no idea what to do.

"So err how do I hold it?"

"In front of you"

"Like this?" she said placing it front of her.

"No closer"

She moved it closer. "This better?"

"Look I'll just show you myself"

The young boy moved under Asuka so that she was sitting on his lap, he held her waist for support as he grabbed the cello and positioned it in front of her.

"Don't get any perverted ideas," she warned.

"Don't worry," he said chuckling.

The young girl took the bow and placed it across the instrument ready to play a note. "Is it just like playing the violin?" she asked attempting a note only to hear an awful squeaking noise.

"Well I presume not," said Shinji laughing. "Here I'll show you"

Shinji held her wrist and moved the bow into the proper position. "You gotta play it from here, and move it a little more fluidly, you probably would have made a note if you moved it properly"

"I did do it properly, your cello just sucks"

Shinji rolled his eyes as she attempted to play a note again and was met with success. She tried a couple more times as she got used to playing the larger instrument.

"Mmm this isn't that hard after all" she commented.

Now that she was confident in being able to play the instrument she then tested the pitch, getting accustomed to the much lower pitch of the cello as opposed to the violin. She tried to work out where notes were, occasionally Shinji would lean forward and show her where a certain note was and she began playing a few simple melodies.

"You're a really fast learner, but then again you are accustomed to playing a string instrument because you play the violin"

"Or maybe I'm just so great" she said sticking her tongue out at him. "Well it's sort of like playing a larger violin with the notes much lower"

Shinji was enjoying having Asuka sitting on his lap, her red hair so close he could smell her scent. Her body was warm as he held her around the waist and her wrist was smooth and slender to the touch. He just wanted to start moving his hands all over her body and then do the same thing with his mouth. He placed his chin on her shoulder and she moved her head to face him.

"It looks like they finally found the salami," said Asuka noticing the lack of noise.

Shinji chuckled and accidentally moved his hand down to rest on her thigh.

"What are you-?" Asuka started.

"Oh what's this? Shinji and Asuka have also decided to have some fun," said Kaji.

Asuka's face went red as she elbowed Shinji in the face and ripped his hand off her thigh. She quickly moved the cello out of the way and jumped off Shinji's lap.

"No it's not what it looks like, Shinji is just a perverted baka" she said explaining to Kaji.

"Asuka it was an accident" said Shinji nursing yet another wound to his face, "but I think I was successful in teaching you how to play the cello"

"Oh so Shinji was giving you lessons, how kind of him," said Kaji smiling his charming smile.

Asuka instantly melted at his charm, grabbing him around his shoulder as she began her rant on how great she was. She was also a little annoyed at how he and Misato were back together. Shinji grew a little jealous at how easily Kaji was able to get her affection, but he knew it was somewhat fake and anyway Kaji was already taken by Misato. He was however curious at his appearance, but then again he did say he would show himself soon. Misato walked into the room sweat dropping at Asuka's behaviour and subtly pried her off of the suffering man.

"Misato has already given me her greeting, Asuka has just told how she is and so how are you doing Shinji?" asked Kaji.

"I'm fine, nothing special happening. By any chance were you the one listening in on us in the morning?" Shinji answered.

"You got me there" he said chuckling "old habits I guess, I am a spy after all. Misato almost caught me too"

"I would have if it wasn't for that stupid old man in the way"

"Well anyway, Shinji I'd like to talk to you in private for a moment if you don't mind"

"Sure" he replied.

The older man led the eva pilot away to his room. The spy closed the door and turned to face him.

"Did you get my message?" he asked the boy.

"Yeah I played the tape. How was your meeting with Misato?"

"She started screaming and hitting me at first, but after she calmed down I explained what had happened. She was really angry I made her think I was dead, but I eventually made her come around. But that's not so important, I'm curious as to how you and Asuka are doing, after all she lost her memory"

"You know?"

"Yep"

"Well she is proving to be very difficult, our relationship has slightly improved, but all in all she won't move any further past that"

"How close were you before she lost her memory?"

"As close as you and Misato just moments ago"

"I wasn't referring to physical closeness, but did you really make love with her?"

"Yes, and we were in love"

"Well I guess you weren't able to use my ring in any case"

"No, I mean I don't think I was ready for marriage yet anyway, but now I don't have even a remote chance"

"As you might have already guessed I didn't come here just to see how you were doing. You see I know women, so I can help you out a bit with your relationship, even Asuka can be made to realise her feelings. Breaking through her defenses is tough, making her admit feelings is even tougher as it requires her swallowing her pride which to Asuka is just about everything. All in all she is likely to be one of the most difficult women to make fall in love"

"I already know all this, but I had done it before. However what I did broke her will, therefore removing quite a bit of her dominant character allowing for greater suppression of pride and thus an easier forming of the relationship. I do not wish to ever do that to her again, but I have been completely unsuccessful in any attempts so far"

"Just so you know, and I don't mean to be offensive, but from what I've heard your previous relationship might not have lasted, it did not have a solid foundation and Asuka's dominant character would most likely have resurfaced"

"No offence taken, I didn't think we had a solid foundation either"

"Well in any case, the first step in getting her back is to get her to like you. This requires you to get past her defenses and show her that you are the guy she wants to be with. If Asuka has already warmed up to you a bit than this is a fair indication that she likes you and does not realise it. The obvious next step is to make her realise that she likes you. This could be the most difficult part, as her pride will not allow her to admit such a thing even to just herself. However there are many methods to achieve this and for a case such as Asuka, we might have to use the more extreme ones"

"I'm open to all suggestions"

"Then listen carefully…"

* * *

Misato and Asuka were waiting in the living room while the two boys were having a discussion. The redhead was very interested in what they could possibly be discussing.

"What do you think they are talking about?" Asuka asked Misato.

"Kaji hasn't seen Shinji in a while, I guess he just wants to catch up and have some guy talk"

"Well what about you? I thought you hated him and yet I walk in on you screwing each other"

"Love is always a complicated thing Asuka, it brings pain and happiness at the same time. It can make you do things you'd never think you'd ever do"

Asuka just stayed silent, quietly brooding. Did anyone truly love her? Did she love anyone else? 'All I need is myself, what do I need something as stupid as love for?' Though she was not fully convinced, a part of her remembered what it was to be loved.

The door to Shinji's room opened and Asuka turned her head to see the two boys exiting the room. Shinji seemed a lot happier as he exited the room with Kaji.

"Thank you very much Kaji, I really appreciate it"

"No problem, you kids deserve a chance at life after all"

The two boys walked over to the living room gracing the two girls with their presence once again. Misato went over to Kaji kissing him on the lips. The couple couldn't resist moving their hands about. The two eva pilots just looked away from the public display.

"Let's not trouble these kids anymore Katsuragi, you can come to my place, I have beer too"

"Great idea, alright goodnight Asuka, Shinji. You guys take care of yourselves"

"Goodbye Misato" Shinji said.

With that the two adults left their residence, closing and locking the door behind them. Silence filled the dwelling as the two eva pilots looked at each other for a moment. Asuka felt that Kaji was much different to how she last remembered; he definitely showed her much less attention.

"What were you doing placing your hand on me you pervert?" she asked irately.

"I didn't mean it Asuka, you still not over it?"

"I'm just gonna go watch some television" she replied ignoring his excuse.

The young girl sat down on the couch and switched on the T.V with the remote and begun watching some soap opera. Shinji went to laundry to distribute the clean clothes throughout the house. After depositing everyone's clothes to their correct rooms he returned to the kitchen.

Shinji noticed it was getting late and just decided to make some supper for the both of them. He had noticed that Asuka's mood had fallen and he suspected it was due to Kaji. The young boy knew there really wasn't anything he could do to cheer her up at the moment and just hoped a good night's sleep would help. It didn't take long to finish making supper and he set it down on the table. Shinji went over to the living room to get Asuka.

"Stop it Richard"

"What's wrong Anna?"

"You know we can't do this, I don't love you so just stop it already"

"Enough Anna! Do I have to die for you to realise your feelings for me?"

"Please Richard"

"Oh bloody hell you stupid cow, can't you see that guy is more decent than 90 percent of the males on this planet. You already love him so just admit it and go with him already" said Asuka growing irritated at the television program.

Shinji smiled at the irony of Asuka saying that. The redhead switched off the television as she noticed Shinji.

"So which bracket do I fall under?" he asked her jokingly.

"Definitely in the 90 percent, but like it matters that guy was fictional, it's near impossible to find one like that"

"Then why say 90 percent?"

"Well there are guys like Kaji after all"

Shinji just rolled his eyes; her idol worship of him was just plain annoying. The young boy clenched his fist. 'Relax, it's just a childish crush, she'll get over it,' he thought.

"You know Kaji is already taken by Misato"

"Don't lecture me third child! Misato just has bigger breasts"

"If Kaji was so perfect that wouldn't be the only thing that mattered to him, besides it's not like your breasts aren't big enough or you're not attractive enough. Can't you see that even though you don't think so you are still a child, he still sees you as a child; Misato is a full-grown woman"

"Look here Ikari, we were not children anymore the moment we became eva pilots. We could die at any time and so we have matured faster than other children at this age. You don't know anything!"

"Fine go to Kaji, he won't take you into a relationship like that, he won't love you, he won't give you most of his attention, but I guess you're ok with that"

Asuka slapped him on the face, but Shinji didn't even flinch, "I'm sick of all this crap Shinji, you should mind your own business"

Shinji just sighed; he knew he shouldn't give in to jealousy. "Alright Asuka, supper's ready"

With that the two eva pilots sat down at the dining table, eating their late night meal. Shinji looked at Asuka warily; sometimes it just seemed so hopeless, many times he thought that perhaps he should just give up on her. He might be able to fall in love again with someone else. Having finished her meal Asuka got up and left the table without a word, leaving Shinji alone. He heard the door close and he began to sob quietly, the toll of everything weighing down on him.

* * *

Asuka had gone to Shinji's room as she left the table. At school today she had to borrow a lot of equipment from Hikari, because she had lost her stationery in the explosion. After entering Shinji's room she went searching through his drawers and found enough supplies. However she came across an object that sparked her curiosity, it was a ring. She picked it up and examined it. It had a beautiful red stone and on the inside it had an inscription that read '_Semper Amemus.'_ 'Isn't that what Shinji asked me to translate? Why has he got such a ring? Is there a girl he likes?' Then she smiled evilly as an idea formed in her head. 'Well that baka deserves this, being so bloody annoying,' and with that the redhead placed the ring in her pocket and silently laughed at the panic on his would be face as he frantically searched for the ring.

Asuka quietly snuck out of Shinji's room and went to her own, making sure that he hadn't noticed her enter his room. She closed her door quietly and went to lie down on her bed to go to sleep.

Shinji had finished his supper and placed his dish in the sink. He got up and left the table to go to his room. After entering his room he just went straight to his bed. The troubled boy found his solace as he drifted off to sleep…

* * *

End notes: Now this chapter was damn hard to write. I had planned the photo's use since I had made Misato take it way back when, however actually writing down my idea on paper was so difficult. I rewrote Shinji's explanation like 5 times trying to make it sound plausible and in character; I really hope the final version was good. Damn there were so many issues in writing this chapter, and also I will have even less time to write now since my brother has finished school and will be using the comp sometimes. Plus because my stupid landlady increasing the rent by like 200 per week we can't afford to stay and we will have to move. I am getting so annoyed by recent events. Ah well make me feel better and give me a review of this chapter :P.


	15. I Like Shinji

Author's Notes: Finally updated yay! If you're wondering why I haven't updated for so long you live under a rock, unless you didn't happen to notice Christmas and New Years pass by :P. Been busy like crazy, so many delays and I'm sorry but there was nothing I could really do about it. But here it is.

First off I will answer all the questions of my reviewers. To Justanotherguyathiscomputer I had already read Home Bodies, but I did check out Power Plays. I will say that was a pretty hardcore lemon whoa, but as if Asuka would wear a collar to school, there is just no way. To LoneWolfBloodStorm there undoubtedly probably is a manga with Shinji/Rei or Misato/Shinji don't know any though. To kiosuque yes the humour is going down because the story is starting to get more serious if you haven't noticed and it wouldn't make sense to be funny in a serious atmosphere.

A note that I have moved the author's notes originally posted here to the end of the chapter.

Lastly to Taker90 a similar question was asked before, a reviewer asked how could Ritsuko not know that LCL acts as a contraceptive. I will say as I did back then, Ritsuko doesn't know about this property of LCL or any of Nerv for that matter. It does act as a contraceptive to clear up the misunderstanding. But then all of you are going to ask 'well how does Shinji know?' I'll be honest and say I hadn't thought of that, but I can't really change all that, let's just say Kaji or the commander told him and only they know.

Also I'd like to mention I came across a short eva fanfic called 'Snow Dance.' If anyone has had the displeasure of coming across this fic and reading it, you'll know what I mean when I say it is so unexpected and awful. I really hated this fic, but I couldn't help laughing at the reviews. There is one thing that it made me think about though, and that's how people are always expecting a certain ending and it was kind of funny and disturbing to see it end that way. If you don't know what I mean go and read it, it's about 600 words. But in the end that writer should be shot :P. Phew now that I've calmed down, on with the chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year :D.

* * *

Chapter 15: I Like Shinji

"_I don't appreciate you cheating third child"_

"_I wasn't cheating," Shinji said childishly._

"_Oh really, how stupid do you think I am?" she replied._

"_Aww come on Asuka its just a game"_

"_Yeah that didn't count and it didn't record it, you have no proof you won," she said sticking her tongue out at him. "I'll admit though you played much better than before, but you still can't beat me"_

_He pushed her up against a wall. He ever so irritatingly brushed his knee against her private region making her squirm a little._

"_I can still beat you in this" he whispered into her ear. He kissed her hard on the lips, slipping his tongue inside her mouth. He used his free hands to roam about her body. "How long haven't we had sex?" asked Shinji parting._

"_Since yesterday when I rescued you from drowning" she said aspiratingly._

"_Seems like years"_

_He slowly pulled off her shirt, allowing it to fall to the floor. He held her shoulders while he moved his mouth down to trail kisses along her neck. He teasingly licked the hollows in her neck while slowly moving his hand behind her back. He unhooked her bra, pulling it off and throwing it to the other side of the room. He looked down admiringly at her soft firm breasts. He moved further down and kissed her in the valley between her two orbs. She moaned softly and ran her hand softly through his thick brown hair. She used her other hand to slowly take off his shirt…_

"WAKE UP SHINJI!"

Shinji jumped a mile high from the shock hitting his head on the ceiling. Apart from being annoyed that he had been interrupted from such a nice dream he felt slightly off and a little tired. He found the cause of his waking up as he noticed the graceful profile of his roommate Asuka. She was glaring at him quite menacingly and looked like she was ready to explode. Shinji quickly sat up wondering what the hell warranted a wake up call from the redhead and this early too.

"What is it Asuka?" he asked sleepily.

"How hard did you hit your head you Dumbkopf? Haven't you noticed the time? It's almost time for school and you haven't made lunches or even breakfast for me yet!" she shouted.

Her shrill voice seemed to hurt his head as she shouted. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with this today.

"I just woke up Asuka, you should have woken me up earlier. Though I have no clue why I slept in. Anyways Asuka I won't be able to do both things in time, so please, just PLEASE make breakfast while I do the lunches. I'm begging you to do this alright, I really don't want to fight about it"

Asuka seemed to take in his plea and looked at him thoughtfully.

"Are you alright? Should I get Misato?" she asked.

"NO! No please, she's gonna cook breakfast if you tell her so please just do it. I won't live another day if she makes breakfast, remember last time when she burnt the cereal," he said painfully recalling his upset stomach.

The redhead chuckled softly. "I had to admit I was impressed she could be that bad. But she went to Kaji's house last night you retard, I was kidding"

He blushed at having forgotten. "Will you do it?" he asked. Asuka returned her thoughts to the previous dilemma, wondering if she should show him mercy. Finally she sighed and threw her hair.

"Alright fine you lazy baka, I'll make breakfast"

"Thank you Asuka"

The redhead just mumbled something incoherently as she walked out of the room closing the door. Shinji quickly got up and wished he hadn't as his head spun wildly. He placed a hand on his head as he tried to steady the world around him. The young boy couldn't afford to make Asuka angry and so he forced himself up and out of the bed. He walked unsteadily to the door, his nausea improving slightly. His injured hand cramped slightly but it had gone as quickly as it came. Shinji opened the door and proceeded to walk to the kitchen.

The male eva pilot noticed Asuka was in the kitchen already, an apron tied around her. She was cooking up some meal for them to eat for breakfast; it was an unusual sight for her. She seemed to dance around the kitchen as she prepared the meal and Shinji almost got lost in a trance just watching her. He quickly snapped out of it, as he needed to make both their lunches and fast. The young boy begun making their usual bento boxes and was surprised to hear Asuka begin whistling.

Despite Shinji's condition he was still able to finish the lunches faster than Asuka could do the breakfast. He set the lunches down on the table and returned to the kitchen to help Asuka. As he approached her, his view spun wildly again and he quickly leaned on her for support.

"Get off me third child, I haven't finished yet" she said slightly annoyed.

"My head's spinning" he said holding her around the waist, supporting his head on her shoulder.

"I can't finish this lugging around a brain dead loser"

"Thank you Asuka for doing this for me" he said quietly.

"I want to eat breakfast and I don't want to be late I'm doing this for myself you baka. Now get off of me already"

Feeling better Shinji removed himself from the beautiful redhead and stood up straight. He gently placed a soft kiss on Asuka's cheek before going to the dining table to sit down. Asuka froze momentarily surprised, but continued finishing breakfast as if nothing had happened. She was soon done and set the two meals on the table. At once the young girl began shoveling the food into her mouth, grateful to finally have food. Shinji ate his meal slowly, he really didn't feel like eating that much. The redhead had soon finished and looked at the young boy with a curious glance.

"I'll eat it if you don't want it" she said.

"Yeah I don't have much of an appetite this morning, you can have it" he said pushing his plate in front of her.

Eagerly Asuka began wolfing down Shinji's meal as well. The young boy decided to go back to his room to change into his school uniform. He still felt a little unwell while he was changing but it seemed to be getting better. After dressing up he took his bag, which felt a little heavier than usual, and returned to the dining room. He noticed that Asuka had already finished his meal and was packing her bag. The young boy took his lunch and placed it in his bag. Asuka looked up at Shinji's arrival and scowled at him.

"I swear what's wrong with you this morning?" she asked irritated, noticing him placing his lunch in his cello case.

Shinji looked down and blushed embarrassed at his actions. He had mistaken his cello case for his bag and he looked downright silly placing his lunch in it. Asuka just walked over to him and smacked him over the head before grabbing his cello case and walking off to his room. She soon returned with his backpack in hand and threw it at him.

"Don't make this a common occurrence, I can't be here to baby-sit you all the time," she said punching him lightly.

Shinji wrapped his arms around the redhead embracing her tenderly. Her body felt soft and warm. Asuka just sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Look third child, glad you want to show gratitude, but we are going to be late for school" she said prying his arms off her.

"I just feel strange today Asuka" he replied.

"You _are_ strange third child. Now come on," she said grabbing his hand.

"Asuka! Other hand please" he said gasping.

She smirked slightly as she took his other hand and pulled him down the stairs. His world spun as Asuka moved amazingly fast, almost making him trip down the stairs. He had a slight relief as he breathed in some fresh air when they exited their building. However this was short lived as Asuka once again started her inhuman sprint, pulling the poor boy along. He struggled desperately to keep the contents of his stomach intact.

The traffic was heavy this morning, but Asuka could not afford to waste time standing at the crossing and ran on through. Many stopped to stare in wonder as a redheaded girl weaved and dodged her way through the morning traffic pulling a helpless boy along with her. She jumped onto several cars to speed up her progress earning a few shouts; some of which made the young boy blush heavily. The redhead ignored their remarks and continued on.

As the two eva pilots criss-crossed their way through the network of side-streets and footpaths they finally arrived at their destination. The school building towered over them as it blocked out the sun, providing them with a little shade as they ran past the front gates. The school courtyard was empty, meaning the students were already inside. Asuka roared and leapt up over the stairs, not unlike Unit 02 during the battle on 'Over the Rainbow.'

'Its not that big a deal if we're late, what is she so fussed about?' Shinji thought. He desperately wanted Asuka to slow down or at least to let him go. Shinji felt relieved as they were nearing their classroom, however someone moved into their pathway causing Asuka to collide with the obstacle. Thankfully Asuka had received the brunt of the impact and Shinji was able to stand up quickly to help the others.

He pulled up the redhead. "You ok Asu-…Aria?"

The small girl giggled as Shinji helped her stand, though Shinji noticed she didn't seem too affected by the impact. "I'm ok Shinji, you should go help Asuka" said Aria.

The young boy turned around and moved towards the other redhead. Asuka was clutching her head in pain, but she had noticed the exchange. Though she wouldn't admit it she didn't like that Shinji went to help the other girl first. Of course poor Shinji had gotten confused between the two redheads. He held out his hand for Asuka to help herself up but it was slapped away.

"I'm fine, I can take care of myself," said Asuka angrily.

The female eva pilot got up and steadied herself, glaring menacingly at Aria. "Listen here you try-hard redhead, what in the world were you doing moving in our way?"

"Well I was running late today because I got lost, as I finally found myself here you collided into me. But I'm really sorry I didn't mean it. In the end you're all right so there's no problem and cute little Shinji was here to help"

"Would you stop idolising that baka?" Asuka said annoyed.

"I'm not idolising, I'm telling the truth," Aria said hugging Shinji softly.

"Pfft whatever" Asuka said moving past her.

"Hey Asuka, no need to get angry at her, she didn't mean to collide with us" said Shinji going after Asuka.

"Stop defending her already, when it comes to being annoying she's worse than wondergirl!"

"Shinji its alright for her to be angry at me, you don't need to defend me" said Aria coming up to them.

"You stay out of this!" shouted Asuka at Aria. As she turned she accidentally tripped pulling Shinji along with her. Aria had tried to hold Shinji to prevent him from falling but ended up falling with him and Asuka. They hit the door of the classroom opening it with a crash as Asuka landed on the floor first, with Shinji coming soon after with the back of his head landing on her chest, followed shortly by Aria who landed in such a way that she was straddling Shinji's waist.

The entire class had seen the event that transpired. "Ikari you dog! Doing two girls at a time, isn't that a bit much?" shouted Toji. The entire class erupted into laughter, as all three teens blushed suddenly self-conscious of their position.

"Get off me you hentai!" shouted Asuka trying to push Shinji off but only managing to shove his face into Aria's breasts.

The class laughed even harder. Aria blushed and instantly stood up to allow Shinji to get up but this abrupt movement caused his face to now be positioned in front of her nether region.

"Ikari! Don't take advantage of her you pervert!" said Asuka slapping Shinji. Momentarily dazed Shinji fell back onto Asuka, his head between her breasts again. At that moment the teacher walked in with a strange expression on his face.

"I leave the class for a few minutes and return to hear such a racket, would you mind explaining what is going on?"

By now Aria had moved off of Shinji and he quickly got off Asuka, allowing her to stand up. Both eva pilots looked at the teacher in silence unable to think of what to say.

"It was my fault"

They all turned to the other redhead.

"What do you mean Miss Swung-Oak?" asked the teacher.

"I was coming late because I got lost, and these two came to get me. However upon arriving to the classroom I accidentally tripped and made them fall over"

The teacher thought about it, she was a new student and she was looking at him pleadingly. He sighed and let it slide this time.

"Alright, since she is a new student I'll let it go this time. But be sure you don't disrupt my class again eva pilots"

Both Shinji and Asuka nodded before going to their seats. Aria moved to her desk, but not before blowing a kiss to Shinji. She sat down and smiled at him. Asuka considered throwing her bag at the girl to wipe that stupid goofy smile off. However she didn't want to annoy the teacher again and so resisted the almost unbearable urge. The only thing really stopping her was the fact that Aria had saved her ass from punishment. Asuka knew how much the teacher was always itching to get an eva pilot in trouble; they probably would have gotten a detention if it weren't for Aria.

Sighing Asuka turned her attention to object of her extreme irritation, Shinji. The young boy was blushing at the flirts being sent to him from biggest slut number 2, second of course to Misato. 'Is he really buying that girl? Honestly I didn't think he was that thick' she thought venomously. A message icon appeared on Asuka's screen and she opened it curiously.

_That new girl has taken quite an interest to Shinji. Let's invite her to lunch I wanna talk to her,_

_Hikari_

Asuka was about to refuse this absurd idea when she realised she hadn't really talked to her yet. She was also a little curious as to this girl's background and what her motives were. The female eva pilot decided to give Aria this one chance. She typed a message back.

_Alright you invite her to our usual lunch spot, we'll give her a nice interrogation at lunch._

_Asuka!_

Asuka rolled her eyes.

_I was kidding Hikari, loosen up already._

_Ok then I'll message her now._

Yet again finding herself bored during class, Asuka began tapping her fingers impatiently on her desk. Another message icon appeared on her screen; with absolutely nothing better to do she checked it.

_She's accepted my invitation she'll come with us when lunch starts._

_Ok._

Shinji was still nursing his poor cheek; he had almost passed out from the slap too. Also his injured hand was starting to hurt again for some reason. He hadn't done anything to deserve it either he just happened to be a victim of circumstance. 'Damn Asuka, she knows I'm not feeling well and she _knows_ it was an accident. I mean _she_ shoved my face into her breasts, not that it was entirely a bad thing, but still why am I called the pervert?' He looked over to Aria again, to see her give him the 'v' sign. Shinji wondered why the girl gave him so much attention.

The young boy soon returned his view to his computer screen to see that he had been sent a message. He opened up the message wondering who sent it.

_Yo Shinji why were you actually late this morning?_

_Toji_

Shinji stretched lazily before typing a reply.

_I just slept in is all, Asuka was really angry with me for it too. As for Aria she really was running late because she got lost, we just happened to bump into her on the way._

_You know I think its clear that Aria likes you, she got you out of trouble and she's cute. Just ask her out already._

_But I already told you I barely know her._

_Get to know her by dating her._

Shinji paused to think about it, maybe he should do as Toji suggested. It wasn't that bad an idea, she was a nice girl and it was pretty obvious she showed some interest in him.

_Alright Toji, I will attempt to ask her out. When should I try?_

_Go ask her at lunchtime. Try to get her alone, but don't back down if you can't. Good luck my brother!_

_Lol thanks._

Shinji returned his attention to the teacher, but he could not keep his concentration for more than two minutes. 'I swear this old windbag must have taken a university degree on how to make a lesson as unexciting as possible. Doesn't he realise he says the same thing every time?' Bored once again he found himself shifting his gaze to Asuka. She was looking around the room with a languid expression on her face. Clearly she shared the same feelings about the lesson as he did, and perhaps the whole class as well.

The redhead caught his gaze and he quickly turned away. Shortly a message arrived at his computer and he opened it.

_Had enough of Miss Oak Tree already? I swear you were focusing on her so hard it looked like you were hoping she would flash you. _

_She's not an unattractive girl Asuka, and I was just looking around the room._

_Yeah right, I know you can't keep your eyes off me._

Shinji rolled his eyes.

_What does it matter? Are you getting envious of Aria because I'm paying more attention to her? _

_I would so slap you through the computer right now you stupid baka. Why the hell would I care about YOUR attention?_

_Ok fine, I will completely ignore you for the rest of the day._

_As if you could._

Shinji didn't type a reply and shifted his attention to Rei, who was at school today. She wasn't staring out the window as usual; instead she seemed to be listening to the teacher's lecture, as if every lesson she had always been ignoring him. Her actions were always enigmatic and it was always hard to tell how she would react. She was still very quiet, but had opened up more. She had talked to Toji about a topic completely unrelated to eva, and also told a joke, even though it was pretty lame. Without his father using her as a tool anymore, he supposed a great restraint was lifted off of her.

The blue-haired girl momentarily turned her gaze away from the teacher and noticed Shinji looking at her. She paused for a second before returning her attention back to the teacher. 'Yep I honestly can't tell what is going on in her head.' The young boy looked up at the clock noticing that lunchtime was about to start. '5…4…3…2…1…'

The bell rang and a loud noise was heard as every student in the room let out a sigh of relief at the same time. Asuka got up and moved over to Aria. She grabbed her arm and pulled her along.

"Come on Miss Swung-Oak, we are going to have a nice lunch together" said Asuka sarcastically.

"I can't wait," said Aria gleefully, completely missing Asuka's sarcasm.

'She's denser than Shinji I swear'

Hikari had come over to them, joining the group. The three of them exited the classroom and walked off to their usual lunch spot outside. Shinji on the other hand had gone with Toji and Kensuke.

"Why do you think the girls went off with Aria?" asked Kensuke.

"Who knows," said Shinji.

"Speaking of which, Shinji is going to ask Aria out," said Toji.

Kensuke looked at Shinji surprised, he thought he liked Asuka. But he couldn't really say anything, he had promised to keep it a secret.

"So soon Shinji? You barely know her," said Kensuke.

"It doesn't matter, she might be the one for me. It doesn't hurt to try," replied Shinji.

"Yeah but…" he tried to mouth Asuka to Shinji without Toji noticing but was unsuccessful and just left it alone.

"Why are you so against this Kensuke? Do you want her for yourself or something?"

Kensuke blushed but said nothing.

"Anyway Shin-man I support you, you can go do it right now" said Toji.

"Nah Toji, I wanna eat my lunch first"

"Fair enough. Can I ask one favour though? When you ask her out come back here and tell us. I want to know if she accepts or not, and I want to tell Hikari something which I'll do after you finish"

"Alright"

The trio sat down under the shade of a tree and began to eat their lunches.

* * *

"Alright Aria, this is were we usually eat our lunch" said Hikari.

"I like it" she replied.

The three girls sat down and took out their lunch. Aria looked at Asuka's bento, noticing that it looked very similar to Shinji's meal yesterday.

"Who made your lunch Asuka?" Aria asked.

"Shinji, why?" said Asuka.

"Shinji makes you lunches? Does he like you or something?"

Asuka blushed slightly. "No, we just live together is all"

"You live together? Shinji said he didn't have a girlfriend…"

"I am NOT his girlfriend" Asuka shouted, her face turning red; but not just from anger.

"But then…?"

"We are both eva pilots, its just convenient that we live in the same residence"

"I see"

"Look Aria we want to know more about you" said Hikari trying to steer the conversation. Asuka began to start eating her lunch.

"You want to know about me?" she asked surprised.

"Yep" said Hikari smiling.

"Well you already know I'm from America, what else do you want to know?"

"How old are you?"

"I'm fourteen"

"What do you like?"

"I like Shinji!"

Asuka coughed and choked on the food she was eating.

Hikari just laughed. "I said what, not who"

"Oh sorry, I get confused with Japanese sometimes" said Aria.

"It's alright, I think we all knew you liked Shinji anyway" said Hikari.

"What do you see in that baka?" asked Asuka suddenly.

"You gotta admit he's cute. He's really nice and polite, and he must be strong and brave if he's an eva pilot"

"His kindness and politeness is fake, he uses it so that people will like him or at least not hate him! Plus he fluctuates between being strong and weak and being brave and cowardly so much I can't tell anymore"

"Look everyone has their faults. But the whole point of liking someone is to see past the bad aspects of the person and focus on the good aspects. It's about accepting him for who he is, no one in this world is perfect, so why expect him to be," said Aria.

"Alright fine, but I still don't see how you can see his good points, especially considering that you haven't known him for long either"

"I understand your concern, but-" Aria started.

"CONCERN? Look honest to god if you like Shinji I really don't care. I just wanted to know why you liked him"

Hikari giggled, while Aria looked at Asuka shocked.

"Let's finish our lunch girls," said Hikari.

The three girls went back to eating their lunch. After a few minutes of silence, none other than Shinji himself arrived at the girl's lunch spot. All three of them looked up at him questioningly.

"I'd like to speak to you Aria," said Shinji his voice shaking a little.

"Sure" she said happily.

"In private?"

"Whatever concerns an eva pilot concerns me," said Asuka.

Shinji didn't even look at Asuka or register he had heard. Instead he summoned up his courage.

"Look Aria, you see the thing is I…I…like you and maybe we could err…go out and see a movie sometime or something"

At once Aria's face lit up. "Are you asking me out Shinji Ikari?"

He hesitated momentarily. "Yes"

The redhead flung her arms around the young boy and kissed him softly on the lips. "I accept, nothing would make me happier"

Asuka couldn't understand why seeing her kiss him pissed her off. "Who would have thought you would go after easy girls Shinji?" she said viciously.

Once again Shinji made no response to indicate he had heard her. Though inside he was boiling with rage and not just because she had insulted Aria. He turned to Aria and managed to smile at her.

"You know the reason I like you Aria?"

"I'd love to know" she replied.

"Because you are honest with your feelings and you're not afraid to give someone a chance"

"Are you implying something Ikari?" spat Asuka.

"Why are you getting so worked up Asuka?" asked Hikari concerned.

"I am NOT getting worked up!" Asuka shouted at Hikari.

There was a moment of silence before Shinji spoke up.

"Anyways the guys need me, so I'll go back to our lunch spot. Lunch is almost over too, do you wanna come with?" he said to Aria.

"Yes my boyfriend" she said happily.

Asuka just cringed at her sweet voice, but said nothing. She was losing control of her emotions and she didn't want another outburst. The couple walked off laughing and chatting to each other. As Aria held Shinji around the waist and kissed him on the cheek as they walked, Asuka felt a knot twist in her stomach. 'What's wrong with me?' she thought feeling sick.

"Let's just go back to class Hikari, lunch is almost over" she said in a flat tone.

"Sure Asuka" she said warily. Hikari knew there was something up with the redhead but didn't know if she should push it or not.

The two girls walked slowly in silence towards the school building. The class rep could not stand the tension and the curiosity got the better of her as she decided to break the silence.

"So Asuka I wanted to ask you something?"

"Go ahead"

"What did you mean when you said that Shinji was implying something?"

Asuka paused and sighed. "Sometime on the weekend me and Shinji had been talking. He told me that I should stop pushing people away and give them a chance. He also admitted he liked me"

"Shinji admitted he liked you? What did you do?"

"I beat the crap out of him, that's what. As if I would ever-WHAM!"

The redhead was cut short by a hard blow to the jaw. Both girls turned in surprise to see the angry face of Toji.

"Unbelievable Asuka, I never thought you could be such a heartless bitch"

"What in the world are you talking about?" asked Asuka angrily.

"Don't tell me you forgot? You told me you would be nice to Shinji if he confessed any feelings towards you" Toji replied.

_Yeah you mean he's grown a spine. Yes he definitely seems more outgoing and confident. I don't know what has caused this._

_Lol grown a spine, I can only guess its you Asuka, so keep up the good work. Whatever it is you're doing even if you don't realise what it is, keep it up, I've never seen Shinji so happy. He seems to generally enjoy your company, maybe he likes you._

_Toji I thought you hated me? And Shinji liking me I don't think so. Maybe he's just happy because I saved his life yesterday._

_I don't HATE you, you just scare me :P. Perhaps you're right about Shinji, but don't be mean to him if he comes up to you confessing his feelings. I mean I know you probably don't like him that way, but be nice._

_He wouldn't have the guts to ask me out, but I'll be nice if he does._

As Asuka returned from her flashback, Toji was still glaring at her angrily.

"Yeah that's right, you know I can't believe I thought you were a good person. All my instincts told me it couldn't be true but I believed Shinji, seems like you just played him you whore"

"You don't know anything you dumb jock!"

"And you still try to defend yourself. You disgust me," he said walking off.

Asuka's fists shook violently and she desperately fought the urge to breakdown and cry. She turned to look at Hikari who was looking at her with pity. Today she had been humiliated, ignored and now pitied. Asuka just snapped and punched the nearby window as hard as she could. Hikari screamed as the glass shattered and Asuka's hand got cut from the sharp glass. Blood dripped down her clenched fist as she breathed raggedly. All the anger and stress that had been building up since the day she woke up with her memory lost had been released in a massive torrent.

"Why can't everyone just LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!" she shouted.

"Look Asuka I'm sure-" Hikari started.

"Don't Hikari, just don't" Asuka interrupted.

The two just stood in silence neither wanting to say anything. There were a few students watching them curiously as they had heard the window smash and the loud shout, however they were too afraid to approach the redhead. Asuka just held her head up and begun to walk off to the infirmary.

"I'm going to the infirmary to get these cuts fixed up, see ya," she said to Hikari.

The class rep twisted her lips as she watched her friend walk off. She knew Asuka could be temperamental sometimes but she had never seen her blow off so much before. Hikari also knew Toji's comment wasn't enough to set off the redhead like that and so deduced that something else must be bothering her. The young girl made a decision and walked off to the infirmary to comfort Asuka, despite her behaviour and what she said, she knew the redhead would want someone with her.

* * *

As Shinji, Toji and Kensuke returned to the classroom they found out about the events that had transpired. Shinji felt very concerned for Asuka, but didn't know whether he should approach her or not. For now he decided to get the full story of what happened starting with what Toji told her.

"Alright Toji what did you say to piss her off?" asked Shinji.

"I didn't do anything, don't try to pin it on me!" Toji replied.

"What did you say?" he asked a little louder.

"Well I heard that she beat you up after you confessed liking her"

"I don't see how that would have done anything"

"Well I asked her to be nice to you if you confessed any feelings towards her and she said she would. I got so angry I punched her and told her she was a whore"

Both Kensuke and Shinji grimaced; Asuka would not have remembered her promise to Toji so she wasn't really at fault. He could only imagine the misery she must be going through with everyone against her today.

"Toji there was no need to say that. She didn't beat me up because I admitted I liked her"

"Really? But she said-"

"It doesn't matter, the truth is that I insulted her and we fought each other hard. This just happened to be coincidentally after I admitted I liked her"

"So you actually do like her?" asked Toji.

"Well I was just saying I liked her as a friend"

"But then-"

"Don't worry about it Toji, just let her cool down, she'll get over it"

"But she broke a window" said Kensuke.

"Oh believe me, it isn't as bad as it could have been"

The three chuckled slightly, but the laughter died quickly as none of them found the situation that funny. The three were soon joined up by Aria, who had gone to the toilet. The four now returned to their classroom and sat down at their seats. When all the students had returned and the bell rang they noticed Asuka and Hikari were both missing. Toji started to feel uneasy about what he had done, but there was nothing he could do to take back what he said.

The teacher walked in and another girl stood up to say, "Rise! Bow! Sit!" As the teacher droned on a growing feeling of worry grew inside Shinji, but he couldn't back down now. A message arrived at his computer and he opened it.

_Is Asuka ok? What's up with her? Was it anything I did?_

_Aria_

Shinji was surprised to see Aria showing concern for his roommate. When he thought about it, she never retaliated to Asuka's insults or took offense. He cleared his thoughts and began typing a reply.

_Asuka's all right, she just needed to release some steam. It definitely wasn't anything you did. I'm pretty damn sure I pissed her off._

_Well that's good I guess. But I am so happy you actually asked me out Shinji :D. You know I think you're a great guy, I didn't think you would go after me. It must have taken a lot of courage since we only really met each other yesterday._

Shinji felt a bit of guilt as he read the message.

_Well it was hard to ask you in front of Asuka, but it wasn't that bad._

_Ok honey, what would you like to do for our first date? But it can't be today._

_Well I was thinking to go to the movies, perhaps tomorrow after school?_

_Sounds great. I can't wait!_

The eva pilot smiled at his girlfriend's eagerness, she seemed very enthusiastic and positive all the time. His thoughts soon returned to Asuka however, he wondered if he should continue ignoring her. He really didn't want to upset her anymore and he thought she had enough. He had stood up to her many times already so he didn't need to prove anything. The young boy began to look around the room again as he grew bored. He felt slightly uncomfortable with Hikari and Asuka gone as it reminded him of the other time they had both been absent.

The sun shone bright through the windows, warming up the room considerably. It was always hot in Tokyo-3 but today the heat was making the students fall asleep in class. Shinji wiped the sweat of his brow, it was so stuffy and it was making him feel worse. The symptoms from this morning were returning. Though he hadn't even noticed that he had gotten better and assumed that it had been nothing. But now with the ill feeling returning he wasn't so sure. His head was starting to spin again and he felt ready to vomit.

Apparently the teacher had noticed Shinji's sick condition as he called to him. "Mister Ikari are you alright?"

"I don't feel very well sir" Shinji replied.

"Alright Toji you take Shinji to the infirmary" requested the teacher.

"Yes sir," said Toji standing up.

Toji walked over to Shinji's desk as Shinji stood up unsteadily. The jock took his friend's arm and put it over his shoulder. Toji then proceeded to carry Shinji like this towards the classroom's door. Toji stopped to open the door and then walked through the doorway, closing the door behind him. The pair walked through the empty corridors towards the school infirmary. It was eerily silent as they traversed the hallway without speaking to each other.

The duo soon arrived at the infirmary and they noticed a red cross had been painted on the door. Toji held his breath and knocked on the door before opening it. Inside were Asuka, Hikari and a nurse who was currently bandaging Asuka's hand. The three looked up at the intruders in surprise. After realising who had come Asuka turned her face away.

"What is a baka and a dumb jock doing here?" asked Asuka.

"Sshhh" said the nurse to Asuka "now what seems to be the problem?"

"Well Shinji here is feeling sick so I brought him here. Anyways I need to go back to class so you take good care of him" said Toji.

Shinji thought it strange to see Toji eager to go back to class, but then again he wouldn't want to confront the redhead either. The jock placed Shinji down on a chair before exiting the infirmary and closing the door behind him.

"What exactly are you feeling?" asked the nurse.

"I don't know I'm getting dizzy all the time, I can barely walk straight and I feel like vomiting"

"You're not drinking are you?" asked the nurse seriously.

Asuka laughed and Hikari couldn't help giggling a little.

"No!" said Shinji blushing.

"Alright then, well I just suggest you go home and lie down to rest. It's most probably a virus, but you might want a doctor to check you"

"Ok"

"You want me to phone your guardian to pick you up? Or do you have a relative or friend at this school who can help you home?"

"My guardian is probably too busy at work, but Asuka lives in the same house as I do she can help me home"

The redhead glared at him furiously, they both knew they were top priority to Nerv and Misato would have picked up Shinji if he was sick regardless. But she didn't say anything because she didn't really want to stay at school any longer anyway.

"Ah well I've already bandaged up Asuka's cuts so it shouldn't be a problem. You ok with this Asuka?" asked the nurse.

"Yeah whatever"

"Alright then Hikari, you can go back to class. I'll just do a few final checks on these two"

"Yes miss," said Hikari politely before leaving the room.

The nurse turned back to the two eva pilots and checked their temperature and blood pressure. She carefully inspected Asuka's hand and then checked inside both their mouths.

"Alright Shinji you have a slight temperature, so get home and rest ok?"

"Sure"

"You take care of him Asuka, and no more breaking windows," the nurse said as she went back to her cupboard.

Asuka just rolled her eyes. She then helped Shinji to stand and placed his arm around her shoulder as Toji had done. She opened the door and exited the infirmary and began to carry Shinji like this towards the exit of the school. Shinji enjoyed the feel of having Asuka close to him, but reminded himself he now had a girlfriend.

"You gonna continue to ignore me for the rest of the day third child?" asked Asuka.

"Nah you win I can't do it" he replied.

Asuka smiled smugly, "As expected, I'm always right"

"Uh-huh"

"Listen here Ikari I've really had enough of your crap. You got me real pissed today and don't defend yourself you KNOW its your fault"

"But-"

"What did I say? You baka, you made me pretend I didn't lose my memory and Toji attacks me because of a stupid promise I couldn't even recall"

"But its not that big a deal, I mean its only Toji and-"

"That's not the point, it's humiliating, it makes me look like I don't keep my word and worst of all Hikari likes that freaking idiot"

"Alright, how could I possibly know about that promise anyway? Look I'll deal with it, to make up for getting you so angry today"

"You better"

They continued walking on, Asuka occasionally shifting her position to make it more comfortable. The sun was really hot today and the two teens couldn't help sweating.

"Why in the world did you get me to take you? You and I both know Misato would have come, and a car ride is much more enjoyable than this blistering heat"

"Not Misato's driving" he said grimacing.

Asuka couldn't help chuckling. "Alright but still"

"I thought you wanted to get out of school, besides I thought maybe Misato and Kaji might be doing something"

"Lies you just wanted to do something perverted to me while I was carrying you"

"I have a girlfriend now remember"

"Are you a greenie or something? Why are you tying yourself to a tree?"

Shinji snickered, "come on Asuka that's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard you say"

"Made you laugh" she said smirking. "But seriously why her?"

"You rather I was dating you?" he said grinning.

"No way!" she said slapping him. "Oh who cares, are you doing anything with her yet?"

"Gonna go to the movies tomorrow"

"Right how original. You gonna make her give you oral sex in the cinema?" she said with a straight face.

"ASUKA?" he shouted blushing a deep red.

"Just kidding" she said rolling her eyes.

"I would never do anything sexual with her"

"Well you never know you're such a pervert after all. So you have only kissed then?"

"Yes"

"Nothing else?"

"Nope, as if we had enough time anyway"

For some reason Asuka felt relieved at hearing this. "What are you talking about? Men are very quick to please"

"Really Asuka, would you stop implying that Aria is a slut"

"Oh why not? I cannot see any other possible reason for her instant attraction to you"

"Maybe I am just so good-looking" he said jokingly.

"Don't flatter yourself"

The two eva pilots continued on in silence. The heat was really starting to affect Shinji, his head was starting to ache and it was getting harder for him to keep up. Asuka noticed him lugging her down and turned to face him.

"What's wrong Shinji?" she asked.

"The heat…I'm getting real tired…gotta hurry up"

"Don't pass out on me, I don't wanna carry you"

But it was too late, the young boy had passed out and Asuka was left with him hanging limply off her shoulder. She wiped the sweat off her brow and gathered all her strength. She lifted the boy up and begun to carry him as he had done to her many times. She gritted her teeth with the effort and was thankful the apartment was very close.

"How much do you weigh I swear"

She soon arrived at the apartment and quickly made for the elevator. She threw him onto the floor and pressed their floor number. She breathed heavily, she could probably do it normally without this much effort, but it was hot and she was tired. As the elevator reached their floor, she dragged him across the floor instead, not wanting to lift him again. Asuka arrived at their door, unlocked it and opened it pulling the unconscious Shinji inside. After getting Shinji inside she closed the door and went to check how he was.

He was breathing so that was all right, but when she put her hand to his forehead he was burning up fast. 'Unbelievable, there's not enough time for me to call Misato and wait for her to pick him up, I gotta get his temperature down.' The redhead ran to the bathroom and started to pour cold water into the bathtub. The young girl then ran to the kitchen, taking out all the ice trays she could find and dumping all the ice into the bathtub.

She soon returned to where Shinji was and dragged him as fast as she could to the bathroom. The young girl then pulled off his uniform and threw him into the freezing water. The boy immediately regained consciousness and yelped.

"Sshh you baka, your temperature is through the roof you need to cool down, so stay down" Asuka ordered.

"W-w-what h-h-happened?" he asked stuttering from the cold.

"You bloody passed out on me, I had to carry you into the apartment and dump you into this bathtub"

"T-t-thank y-y-you A-a-asuka"

"Yeah yeah, I'm gonna go call Misato"

"W-when c-can I g-get out?"

The redhead sighed irritated and placed her hand on his forehead. Shinji enjoyed the soft feel of her palm pressed against his head.

"Looks like about a day"

"W-What?"

She laughed slightly at his reaction. "Don't you have a sense of humour Shinji? You can get out in a few minutes you've definitely cooled down"

"A-alright"

Asuka exited the bathroom and moved over to their phone. She picked up the receiver and dialed Misato's work number. Misato picked up straight away.

"This is Major Katsuragi speaking"

"Hello Misato its me Asuka, Shinji is sick and I don't really know how bad it is"

"What happened?"

"Well that baka passed out while we were walking home"

"But school isn't over"

"Well he was feeling sick and-"

"Why didn't he call me to pick him up?"

"Ask him that"

"Is he alright?"

"I shoved him in a bathtub full of freezing water to cool him down"

"Good thinking Asuka, I'll come by soon with Ritsuko to check up on him"

CRASH! Asuka jumped surprised at the noise.

"What was that?" asked Misato.

"Don't know, probably Shinji being a clumsy oaf again. Excuse me while I go check on the baka"

Asuka hung up and returned to the bathroom to see Shinji on the floor. If not for the situation she would have found the scene quite amusing, as a half-naked Shinji was sprawled out on the floor, completely soaked and shaking.

"What happened?" she asked with a hint of concern.

"I t-tripped, I still get dizzy"

"Oh you would have tripped either way you klutz"

She moved over to helpless boy and gave him her hand. After helping him stand she moved him next to the wall so he could steady himself. She took a towel and wrapped it around the boy. The boy was finally grateful to be out of that freezing cold bath.

"I'll help you to your room, then you should dry yourself, we don't want water dripping everywhere"

"Ok"

"You know this is all your fault"

"Yeah I know"

"Next time just get Misato to pick you up"

"I enjoy your company Asuka"

"You're gonna enjoy some brain damage in a second"

The two eva pilots made their way to Shinji's room. Asuka found it slightly uncomfortable as he was soaking her clothes because he was wet. The occasional drop would drip off his hair and onto her shoulder or face. Arriving at his room Asuka opened the door and placed Shinji down on his bed, where he sat up and begun to dry himself with his towel.

"Do I get a kiss to make me feel better?" asked Shinji jokingly.

The redhead smiled seductively as she moved next to Shinji. She brought her face mere inches from his. Shinji looked a little surprised as she began to close the distance between their lips. As they were about to touch Shinji pulled away, a frown formed on the redhead's face but she quickly masked it with a scowl.

"Asuka I was joking, I'm with Aria remember"

"Yeah she's so great isn't she? Good boy Shinji would never betray her," she said sarcastically, "but whatever, I wasn't trying to kiss you. I was just testing your loyalty and if you would take advantage of a girl"

"Did I pass?"

"Yeah one hundred percent" she muttered leaving the room.

Shinji pondered the redhead's unusual behaviour today, he wondered if it had anything to do with Aria. Then he smiled upon realising what was happening. 'This could work out.' The boy continued drying himself when he heard the front door open.

"I'm home!" Misato called out.

"About time!" called out Asuka.

The redhead made her way to the front door to see Misato and Ritsuko entering their residence. Misato closed their door and turned to greet Asuka.

"Hey Asuka how you doing? Have you been crying over Shinji?" Misato asked noticing the moisture on her face.

"What? Why would I be crying over _him_?"

"Why have you got tears on your face?" asked Ritsuko.

"I don't! Shinji was just dripping all over me when I carried him out of the bath"

"You don't have to be ashamed Asuka," said Misato teasingly.

"Why do you have to turn everything into something perverted?" shouted Asuka at Misato.

"Look, I've come to see Shinji, can you argue another time?" said Ritsuko trying to stop the two girls from fighting.

"Fine" they both said.

"Now how is he?" asked the doctor.

"He seems fine to me, I think he's still a bit dizzy" said Asuka.

"When did the symptoms start?"

"Well this morning he was acting strange. But at school he seemed fine again only for it to come back. Then he passed out as we were going home and his temperature was through the roof so I threw him into the bathtub full of freezing water"

"You really do act fast Asuka, well I'll go check on him and see what we can do for him. Where is he?" said Ritsuko.

"He's in his room, just follow me" said Asuka.

Misato sat down on the couch in the living room, deciding to have a good break from her work at Nerv. The redhead walked off to Shinji's room with the blonde doctor following closely behind. Asuka opened the door to his room and held her arm out.

"Shinji Ikari, baka extraordinaire, is ready to receive examination"

Ritsuko just shook her head as she went inside to check on the sick eva pilot. The redhead waited outside to eavesdrop, as she was curious about Shinji's condition. Ritsuko took out her equipment and began to do a few tests on Shinji to determine his illness. The boy had a slight temperature and other than the dizziness he described, the doctor could not find anything else wrong making her unable to work out what could be the problem.

"Damn my hand's hurting again," said Shinji as he flexed his palm.

"Your hand…wait a second don't tell me…"

The one thing the doctor had missed was the young boy's injured hand; she hadn't bothered to check it as she had forgotten about it.

"Give me your hand Shinji," Ritsuko requested.

Shinji showed the doctor his injured hand. Ritsuko unwrapped his bandages and examined his wound. She let out a gasp of shock and Shinji grew worried.

"What's wrong Ritsuko?" asked Shinji nervous.

"I'm sorry Shinji but you have an STD" she said with a serious face.

"WHAT!" cried out Shinji.

A loud crash was heard as the two observed a certain redhead rolling on the floor with laughter. Asuka stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Oh come off it, as if Shinji would _ever_ get laid," she said smirking.

"Ritsuko don't scare me like that," said Shinji.

"What are you that dense Shinji? You can't contract an STD unless you have sex with someone, you should have known she was joking straight away" said Asuka.

Shinji sat there like a deer in headlights; he had been caught by Asuka for the first time.

"Ah well what's to expect from a baka like you anyway" she said walking off still chuckling.

When they were both sure she was out of hearing range, they both sighed in relief. That was the closest Asuka had come to discovering anything that had happened in the past. He found it ironic that when he had actually let something slip she hadn't realised it.

"That was too close Ritsuko, I thought for sure she had worked out that I had sex. Although it's funny, she's been trying very hard to get information out of me and I let slip when she used no effort at all"

"We'll just consider ourselves lucky then, but back to your diagnosis. Your hand has obvious signs of infection; you haven't been cleaning your wound properly. Shinji you must not neglect this, sometimes you don't even realise when you get an infection and it could get real bad before you notice. Anyways it's definitely a bacterial infection so I'll prescribe some antibiotics to you. It doesn't look contagious, but you should stay home anyway and get some rest"

"But I need to go somewhere tomorrow"

"If you really must go, please make sure you take care of yourself and don't exert yourself"

"Sure thing"

"One more thing, something happened at Nerv" said Ritsuko remembering.

"What?"

"We momentarily detected an AT-field this morning. It was too small and too short to determine where, but we know it was in Tokyo-3. Did you notice anything at all?"

"Nope"

"Well it was possibly a glitch, the Magi did report a five percent chance of error and so it probably was"

Ritsuko left the room and Shinji began to change into some clothes. Ritsuko went over to Misato.

"Misato, can you drive me back to Nerv? I've already checked upon Shinji and he should be alright"

"What was wrong with him?"

"His hand got infected, I'll give him some antibiotics and he'll be fine"

"Alright Ritsuko." The major then got up from the couch where she was sitting. "Goodbye you two, I really can't stay I'll be sure to greet you next time Shinji and Asuka, make sure Shinji's ok while I'm gone!" she called out.

"Whatever" Asuka replied from her room.

The two adults left the residence leaving the two teens all alone.

* * *

Rei was leaving school when someone approached her.

"You're the first child aren't you, Rei Ayanami?" the person asked.

Rei looked at the person, unable to recognise.

"You're the same as I am" the person continued.

"Who are you?" Rei asked.

The person just smiled.

* * *

Back at Misato's apartment Asuka never heard what was wrong with Shinji in the end and so decided to ask him. The redhead didn't bother to knock, as his door was open and walked straight into his room. The young boy had just finished changing into his new clothes as the female eva pilot walked in.

"So what did you do this time baka?" she asked.

"My hand got infected"

"You're kidding me? You are so stupid sometimes"

"Well I learn from the best," he said sticking his tongue out at her.

"Yeah, I'll bet Toji gives you private tutoring for it"

Shinji couldn't help chuckling.

"You going to stay home tomorrow?" she asked.

"Most likely, but I don't want to miss my date, so I'll only stay home to skip school"

"You lazy bum, you just want to get out of school"

"Well you don't remember, but these past few months have been so boring at school. I'd use any excuse to get days off"

An awkward silence grew as neither could think of anything to say. They just stared blankly at each other until Asuka's stomach grumbled loudly making her blush slightly.

"Well you haven't made dinner yet," said Asuka.

"But I'm sick"

"The fuck I care. I am _not_ making it this time"

"Alright Asuka"

The boy got up and found he was able to walk without help again. He moved past the Asuka and exited his room. He made his way to the kitchen to begin preparing dinner while Asuka had gone off to her room while she waited. The young girl opened her drawer to take out some pencils and caught sight of Shinji's ring. Her face saddened slightly as she looked at the object in disgust. 'This type of ring could only be for an engagement, how can he already like Aria that much? There isn't any other girl it could possibly be for, what a baka.' Of course at this time Asuka failed to realise that Shinji had the ring before he had met Aria at school.

"Dinner's ready!" shouted Shinji bringing the redhead out of her thoughts.

She placed the ring back in her drawer and exited her room. When she arrived at the dining table, Shinji was already sitting down waiting patiently for her to appear. Asuka sat down at the table and ate her meal in silence. Shinji sensed a drop in mood but chose not to pursue it. And so the two finished their meals placed their dishes in the sink and went off to their rooms without saying a single word to each other.

Shinji was very tired, after all he was sick, and as he lay down on his bed his eyes felt heavy. He went off to sleep without another thought.

* * *

Late at night Misato would come back to the apartment to find both teens fast asleep. She sighed a bit depressed, as she had wanted to talk to Shinji having missed the opportunity when she came over with Ritsuko. However she was satisfied enough with seeing him sleeping peacefully in his room. What bothered her was when she had checked on Asuka; she was thrashing about as she had a nightmare. Misato knew that Asuka hadn't had nightmares for quite a while and was disconcerted to see they had returned. The major switched off the lights and went to bed herself.

* * *

End Notes: I personally liked the beginning of this chapter, with previous chapters having had Asuka remembering something as she woke up and the title of this chapter, you straight away think 'OMG she's remembering their relationship!' Hehe I'm evil :D. Also if anyone of you are wondering whether the bathtub things works, it does. I have personally experienced this when I was younger. I was really sick and my temperature was 40 degrees celcius, if you go over 41 I think, you die. Regardless my mother threw me into a bathtub of freezing cold water, which wasn't very pleasant mind you. My temperature went down to 37 point something after a few minutes so yeah.

Autho's Notes from beginning: To all of you asking when Asuka will recover her memories or when Shinji and Asuka will get back together I will say this. I don't think I said they would or they wouldn't get back together, furthermore why would I tell you when they get back together if they get back together? That's the whole point of reading this, to find out what happens. As to Asuka getting her memories back, take note of what I've done with everything she's remembered so far and you can deduce what could happen later on. And again I wouldn't tell you when, if she does. I wanted to say that cause its getting slightly annoying having people continuously ask that, just read and find out geez its not that difficult.

Now to D.K.N and FireHilt I think this both concerns you. I know you're trying to help me, but I am the writer of this story and no offence it is kind of irritating when you tell me how my story should be. Believe me when I say I all know what you want. You want Asuka to go "I love you Shinji! Let's have sex!" First of all if this is too happen I have to make it believable, in character and it has to make sense. It is so much easier for me to just give back Asuka's memories and make them get together, but this will be remembered as a good story not a great story if I do that. Now for all of you for any progress with Shinji's/Asuka's relationship it will be a while. I will say Asuka will remember some more things but you'll just have to read and find out. I know what I'm saying is a little cryptic but I don't wanna give away the story, please understand that it is very difficult to answer all your questions on when certain things are going to happen. I alone know how my story's plot unfolds and how it's going to end and you just have to trust in that.


	16. I Love Shinji

Author's Notes: Yay 16th chapter done and quite quickly too. Would have been posted sooner only I had some problem with Microsoft Word. While typing the chapter the mouse would move on its own, scroll to the top of the document and Word would freeze. After a while I would get the message 'Microsoft Word has caused a fatal error etc.' I did some spyware and virus scans but nothing came up. Have no idea what it was, but it was really annoying as I had to rewrite some parts as I wasn't able to save.

I have to celebrate though, I now have over 100 reviews, woohoo. That's something special I just know it :D. Well a thanks to all my loyal readers for sticking with me and posting your comments its been wonderful.

Now to reply to my reviews, to Asuka Ikari I will say right now Aria is not another clone of Rei, but I can't see how you came to that conclusion. To anonymous I think you fail to notice the secondary genre of this fic is ANGST. It is not always going to be rainbows and butterflies, there is going to be a lot of drama etc. To Xolodus, your review WAS helpful, it made me feel happier :D, but really thanks for the comment, I get a lot of 2 sentences reviews that say 'Great fic, update' but you took time to say how much you liked my story, I appreciate it. To the other reviews, I cannot answer your questions without giving away the story. (First time, a reader has caught up on my plot).

I will note that this chapter has very little dialogue, it is mostly self-reflection. Also there is very little humour and you will see why when you read. Enjoy the chapter :D, it's a much shorter one than the previous two.

A note here that this is not the original chapter, I changed it slightly after some suggestions from readers.

* * *

Chapter 16: I Love Shinji

"Status report on the pilots" she said.

"Go ahead" said the commander.

"First child, Ayanami Rei. She is in perfect health. Her eva Unit 00 is undamaged, as it did not participate in the last angel battle. Latest sync ratio 65. Second child, Souyru Asuka Langley. She has no physical problems, however her current state of mind is not stable. Her eva Unit 02 has been 80 percent repaired since the last battle. Latest sync ratio 69. Third child, Ikari Shinji. He has recently had a bacterial infection but otherwise perfectly healthy. His eva Unit 01 has been fully repaired since the last battle. Latest sync ratio 85. Fourth child, Suzuhara Toji. He is in perfect health. His eva Unit 03 has been fully repaired and all angel contaminants removed. Latest sync ratio unknown as he has resigned from piloting, however it is believed he would achieve a sync ratio of 40"

"Very well Ritsuko, it is just as I had expected, dismissed"

"Yes sir"

* * *

The past few days had left the redhead feeling miserable. Ever since he had come back from his first date with Aria on Wednesday, she felt gloomy. The young boy had excitedly given her all the details of their date, leaving Asuka feeling resentful. He had looked so happy and one pervading thought kept repeating itself in her head, 'How could I lose to her?' She refused to believe she had feelings for the third child, but there was a part of her that knew it was true.

The third child, he had been growing distant from her ever since he became Aria's boyfriend. He wouldn't pay as much attention to her, he wouldn't have many conversations with her, it was almost as if he was ignoring her. The young girl readily admitted that she missed having his attention, missed talking to him and even missed his small signs of affection towards her. The male eva pilot would still do what Asuka asked of him, but even then he didn't fight her and she liked the trivial arguments they had. He had become the old Shinji, nice and obedient.

This pissed her off even more; with all the work she presumably went through to give Shinji some backbone, Aria comes along and takes him receiving all the benefits without doing anything. She couldn't understand how Shinji himself could go along with that girl; she just seemed so fake. Asuka wanted to strangle her every time she saw her, using that stupid sweet voice of hers and smiling like an idiot to the boy.

To make matters worse her sync ratio had fallen dramatically, so much so she was almost as low as Rei. Nothing was happening to her that she could blame the bad results on, not even a period. She was forced to admit that Shinji and Aria dating made her feel sick; it was a strange feeling. She hated the other redhead, first off she had taken the object of her amusement from her, and second she was making her sync ratio bad. But she hated herself even more, to be so weak that she was losing herself like this to such a small slip of a girl.

At school, Hikari had taken quite an interest in Toji ever since he asked her out on a date. So Asuka was left alone most of the time, she had no one to turn to or talk to. Asuka couldn't even speak to Misato as she was always either working at Nerv or off at Kaji's, only sometimes coming home late at night to sleep and eat. She was so sick and tired of everyone abandoning her, first her mother, then Kaji, Shinji, Hikari and Misato. Was she such a horrible person that no one could stand her?

Her feelings of abandonment intensified during the night when she suffered her nightmares. She would always have the same dream, first she would see her mother hanging from the ceiling, but the body would change into Shinji. Shinji would then smirk at her telling her she was so pathetic for thinking that he would want her. Asuka hadn't had nightmares ever since she lost her memory, she didn't know why they had returned or why they had even disappeared in the first place. This only added to her misery, as she was always tired from being unable to sleep.

Asuka was staring up at her ceiling to pass time, as she didn't want her thoughts to bring her to a nervous breakdown. She glanced at her clock and noticed that it was finally time to get up, not wanting to spend another hour staring up at her ceiling she got off her bed. The young girl looked awful, her once vibrant red hair was quite dull and frizzled and she had dark circles under her eyes. She went over to her door and opened it. As she exited her room, she closed her door quietly so as not to wake anyone and sneaked quietly to the kitchen.

Upon arriving at the kitchen the redhead opened the fridge and scrounged through, looking for something edible. She didn't really care what to eat; she just wanted something to take her mind off everything. Finally deciding on some instant noodles, the young girl placed the container inside the microwave. After heating up the noodles she sat down at the dining table and began to eat her meal. Her stomach felt strangely empty and it felt good to fill it up with some food. The young girl ate slowly having no need to rush.

The sun was already up this Saturday morning as its rays shone through the window. Asuka heard a sound and realised someone was coming. "Who's there?" she asked.

She knew it couldn't be Misato, so she wasn't surprised to hear Shinji's voice reply.

"What are you doing up so early Asuka? Couldn't sleep?"

"Something like that" she replied.

"I would have offered to make you breakfast, but I see that you're already eating"

"Do whatever you want"

"Ok Asuka…" he said.

The young boy had been puzzled by her behaviour the past few days, but thought maybe she was just passing through a phase. She seemed more aggressive than usual, and would be angered by the smallest of things. He thought it was best to just try to avoid her, as he was sure he was the one that was pissing her off. Of course he hadn't realised that it was what was making her angry. But the worry and concern was still there, Shinji had noticed her drop in sync ratio and was wondering if it was all a good idea after all. He silently prayed for the strength to continue on.

He went on to prepare breakfast for himself, knowing Misato wouldn't be here as she had constantly been away either at Nerv or at Kaji's, not that he could blame her. Shinji continued to think about what had happened these past few days. He hadn't been at school on Wednesday but he had heard the news from Asuka that day that Toji had asked out Hikari. Shinji had asked Toji about it the following day and he had simply replied that he finally got the courage to ask her on a date after I had asked Aria out. He was happy for them, it was so obvious they liked each other and he was thinking it was about time they became a couple.

Soon the young boy had finished making his breakfast, setting it down on the dining table and beginning to eat. He was a little surprised to see Asuka still there; she usually ate as fast as she could. Asuka herself was a little relieved it was Saturday as she wouldn't have to see Aria today and Shinji would stay home. Perhaps they could do something together, after all it would alleviate her boredom and perhaps she could have a decent conversation for once.

"What are your plans for today Ikari?" she asked randomly.

Shinji looked up at the girl and couldn't help noticing she looked in complete disarray. Her hair was all messy as if it hadn't been washed for a few days, and she had dark circles under her eyes as if she hadn't been sleeping lately.

"Why do you ask?" he replied.

"Can't I be curious? Maybe I might consider doing something with you, I'm bored as hell"

"Well sorry, won't be able to"

"Why in the world not?"

"Aria asked me to her house today, I'm going to leave for her place early as her house isn't very close"

"What! _Her_ again?" she said angrily.

"Is there a problem?"

"Can't you give her a rest, you saw her everyday at school, what am I supposed to do at home alone?"

"I can't go back on my word, I said I would go"

"I do not give you permission to go!"

"Asuka stop behaving so silly, you are not my guardian either"

"When Misato leaves the Katsuragi household, the province of Souyru begins and I rule autocratically"

Shinji couldn't help laughing; did she really want him to say that much?

"The Province of Souyru is now currently under civil war with the Ikari rebels"

"Then I declare martial law!"

"Look Asuka I have to go now, I really don't have time for this"

"It seems like you never have time"

"Lay off second child!"

Asuka just sat their stunned, this was the first time Shinji had addressed her as 'second child,' he must really be annoyed. The young boy stood up from the table and walked off to his room. Despite Shinji being angry the redhead wasn't just about to give up, she could not allow him to go to her house. Shinji returned with a bag in his hand and strode towards the exit. Asuka moved in front of the door.

"Asuka please move"

"You can't go to her house, she'll offer to sleep with you and we can't have a pilot impregnating someone"

"First of all, she wouldn't offer to sleep with me in the first place, secondly I wouldn't sleep with her even if she offered and lastly even if for some stupid reason we did end up having sex, LCL acts as a contraceptive"

Asuka was running out of excuses.

"You just shouldn't go"

"Give me one good reason why I should stay"

"Because I'm telling you to"

"Goodbye Asuka" he said pushing past her.

She grabbed his wrist and the young boy turned to face her.

"Don't go," she said almost pleadingly.

"Why?"

She opened her mouth to say something, but was at a loss for words. It seemed she was fighting desperately to say something and Shinji looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"Fuck you, just go" she said releasing his wrist.

"Goodbye Asuka" he said once again as he walked through the door and closed it behind him.

After a few minutes Asuka just shouted in outrage. She kicked her chair as hard as she could sending it flying into the wall, where it broke. She pounded her fists on the dining table.

"Why? Why? WHY? Damn that stupid baka, why does he have to make me feel this way?"

She forced herself to calm down as she sat back down on another chair at the dining table. 'It doesn't make sense, recently he would always do what I asked him, why did he fight me so strongly?' Asuka could only see one possible explanation; he really liked Aria or perhaps even…loved her. 'Why does it bother me? Why did I really want him to stay?' So many 'whys', so many damn questions she couldn't answer. Asuka didn't want to think anymore, it only made her feel worse. But she couldn't really think of anything to get her mind off everything.

"That baka Shinji always has issues, I'm sure he needs some time to get away from his thoughts, how does he do it?" she asked out loud.

The answer hit her straight away it was so obvious, his SDAT. He would listen to music to forget about the world for a while. Asuka didn't feel like playing her violin or Shinji's cello for that matter, but was uneasy about using Shinji's SDAT. 'Why should I care about that stupid baka anyway? He won't even notice that I had used it' she thought, giving her the resolve.

The young girl went over to Shinji's room and searched through his drawers looking for his device. She found it soon enough and sat down on Shinji's bed. She placed the earplugs in her ears and lay down on the bed. His bed seemed familiar for some reason. The young girl pressed the rewind button and was surprised to see that the tape was only about ten minutes from the beginning. She pressed play and listened to the music, which she soon recognised as Madonna's 'Frozen.' 'Why would that baka listen to this? I thought he liked opera and old classicals.' But she soon dismissed her thoughts as she was finally able to find peace listening to the music. The words impacted on her a little.

The music cut off abruptly, replaced by silence. Then a voice,

"_Yo, you're late"_

Asuka recognised the man's voice as Kaji's. A gunshot was heard followed by a pair of footsteps running off. Asuka listened on curiously, only hearing the occasional moan. After a few minutes she heard a grunt.

"_You missed Katsuragi"_

'Did Misato shoot Kaji?' thought Asuka. She then heard a sound like someone getting up then it stopped, only to come back to Kaji speaking.

"_Yo Shinji, I know you might be wondering what's going on, but this is Kaji. I have given you this tape because I am not yet ready to present myself to Misato yet. Don't worry if you didn't recognise me, I wanted it that way. Anyway I want you to know I'm still alive, Misato shot me but only wounded me as you heard in the recording. One favour I ask is not to tell Misato about this, not yet anyway. I know she's probably grief stricken over thinking that she killed me, but I will show myself soon enough. I wanted you to know though…"_

Asuka listened on in shocked silence, as the tape seemed to pause for a moment.

"_That ring I gave you was the one I was planning to propose to Misato with a long time ago, except I never had the courage to do so, I think you need it more. You might be wondering how I know you would need it, well let's just say I have a way through Nerv's security and saw the recording of the battle with the 15th angel. If you want to know how I found you I followed you when you exited the apartment alone, I am a spy after all. One last thing I warn you DO NOT go see the movie 'Angels and Evas.' I was desperate for money so I sold some information about Nerv but I'd never think he'd go so far as to make a movie and an awful one at that. So yeah sorry about that movie and don't try looking for me I will come soon enough. I hope you're doing good kid"_

The music returned and Asuka pressed pause. 'Well now we know who the leak at Nerv was' she thought recalling the movie. 'But what is all this? Shinji has some tape with Kaji recording his attempted assassination? Misato really tried to kill him? This is all so confusing.' Asuka thought over what she had just heard. 'Alright so Shinji got the ring from Kaji, not because of a girl. Now that I think about it, he must have had the ring before he even met Aria at school. But what happened in the battle of the 15th angel? Shinji said I defeated that one, did he leave anything out?'

She took out Shinji's earplugs and returned his SDAT to his drawer. The redhead then tried to remember the battle with the 15th angel, a few scenes flashed in her mind. She saw the angel in the sky; she was aiming her rifle at it. Then she saw a bright light shining down on her. Asuka focused on these thoughts, desperately trying to remember.

"_Get out of my head, get out!" she screamed. The young girl clutched her head in agony and struggled against the assault. _

"_Ritsuko?" Misato shouted._

"_It seems the angel is attacking Asuka with some sort of particle wave, it's assaulting the pilot's mind directly!" the doctor said frantically._

"_Any suggestions? Anything that can stop this attack?" Misato shouted urgently._

"_I don't know Misato. It would take too long to analyse and I just don't know where to start and-" Ritsuko started._

"_Rei fire!" Misato ordered, seeing that the doctor did not have any solution._

_Upon receiving Misato's command, the blue haired girl fired at once, the long energy beam shooting off into the sky. However, the distance was too far and by the time the beam reached the angel it had lost too much energy and the beam was reflected as it hit a series of octagons._

"_The AT-Field is too strong!" Ritsuko called out._

"_Damn it" the Major cursed at the failure._

"_Ah God, I don't want to remember this! Make it stop, make it stop!" Asuka cried out, still under attack._

"_Father!" Shinji cried out. "Father please let me help her!" he pleaded._

"_Permission denied" the Commander replied coldly. "Unit 01 is too valuable, I cannot take the risk"_

_Asuka continued to scream in pain, desperately fighting against her foe._

"_At this rate the pilot could receive irreversible mental damage, we need to do something" Ritsuko announced._

"_If not send out Unit 01, what do you suggest commander?" Misato shouted furiously._

"_Father please, I have to go help her. Let me go, I can do this!" Shinji pleaded again._

"_Permission denied" the Commander replied again. "Rei retrieve the lance" he ordered._

"_Hai" was Rei's response before she stood up and went over to the elevator so she could be brought back down to retrieve the lance._

"_The Lance? You can't be serious Commander?" Misato shouted in disbelief._

"_Follow your orders" was all the Commander said in response._

_The young boy opened a com link to Asuka's evangelion._

"_Asuka can you hear me?" Shinji asked._

_The young girl shifted as she heard his voice. "Yes" she replied in pain._

"_Listen to me Asuka, you have to fight it!" he urged._

"_I can't! It hurts so much!" the girl replied._

"_Be strong Asuka, you always were" Shinji responded._

"_I don't wanna be strong anymore!" she shouted. "I've acted strong all my life, I'm sick of it! In the end I still have to suffer this, I just can't take the pain anymore" she refuted._

"_In all my life I have never met a girl with a stronger will, with more determination, with more stubbornness. No matter what, you always stood by your pride even if it hurt you and I've experienced it from you personally. Surely this angel is nothing then right? You can do it Asuka, I believe you can" Shinji replied._

"_So what Shinji? You're just a pathetic wimpy little boy. So what if you believe in me? So what if you give a damn? It doesn't change anything…" she retorted._

"_You're wrong Asuka. You're wrong because…" he said trailing off. _

"_Because what?" she asked._

"_Because I…"_

Asuka came back from her flashback, unable to remember what he had said. She sighed in frustration but was a little relieved, as she had been in great torment the entire memory. It seemed to her that the angel was trying to enter her mind. The young girl was really determined to work out what had happened and so focused her thoughts on the 15th angel again.

"_You mother fucking angel, you're gonna die!" she shouted out._

_The redhead's face darkened with anger as she mustered all her will to erect her AT-Field, which successfully blocked the wave. The young girl having finally been relieved of the alien presence in her mind became slightly more relaxed, no longer clutching her head in pain. The angel up in space was astonished the eva pilot could manage it and so increased the power of its attack. Asuka thought over the situation quickly, deciding how she could possibly fight the angel up in space. _

"_I'm so glad you're okay Asuka!" Shinji cried out happily._

"_It won't last forever Shinji, I need some way to attack the angel" Asuka replied._

"_I think I have a way" Ritsuko suddenly announced._

"_I'm up for any suggestion" Asuka said, encouraging the doctor to go on._

"_Currently your AT-Field is blocking the wave, however if you invert your AT-Field you could redirect and focus the particle wave. If concentrated enough, the particle wave could turn into a high energy gamma beam and slice right through the angel's AT-Field" Ritsuko explained._

"_Understood" Asuka said in response._

_The young girl proceeded to invert her AT-Field and began redirecting the angel's weapon right back at it. Sweat began pouring down the redhead's forehead as she concentrated on focusing the particle wave. Pressing her AT-Field together she focused the particle wave into a tiny concentrated beam and swung it in an upward arc, causing the beam to cut straight through the angel's AT-Field and the angel itself._

She stopped; she just couldn't remember anything else. 'Well I did destroy the angel, like Shinji said I did. I was a little hysterical, but I suppose with something invading my mind it can't be helped. I can't really see anything that special about that battle, as Shinji explained we became friends so of course he would care about me. None of this makes sense, and what did Shinji say?'

Asuka decided she would just ask Shinji about the tape and the 15th angel, he would know for sure. But now the young boy's actions seemed even more puzzling, she thought she understood him, but perhaps she was wrong. 'He doesn't have a traumatic past like mine; he should be easy to understand. Maybe I should ask him about his past, after all he knows about mine…'

"_Asuka?"_

_Asuka lay on her bed not responding._

"_I'm coming in"_

_He opened the door and entered her room._

"_Now I know what you're thinking, but its not gonna happen. I know you hate it so I'm not coming here to say sorry."_

_She continued to stare at him blankly._

"_But seriously Asuka stop being so stubborn, you know I won't judge you, what are you afraid of?"_

_She still didn't respond._

"_I can tell you my story, and perhaps it might be similar to what happened to you"_

_She lifted her head up a bit to listen._

"_Well back when I was very young, probably 3 or 4 my mother and father were working on project eva. My mother was used as the test subject for Unit-01, my eva. But something horrible happened in the experiment and she got absorbed, I watched my mother disappear right in front of my eyes. I never saw my mother again, I can't even remember her face. To make it worse my father abandoned me, discarded me as if I was trash. He left me with some professor who didn't really like me anyway. Then one day I get called by my father to come to Tokyo-3 only to realise he just wanted to use me to pilot Unit-01. In the end my father still saw me as another pawn. That's why I got so angry when you said I was like my father, because I would never do what he did. Anyway I didn't want to expose my heart to anyone, because I was afraid of getting hurt again. So every time I was faced with something too hard to deal with I just ran away from it. But now I realise being all alone you sacrifice your happiness…"_

Realisation dawned upon the young girl. 'He's the same as me. No wonder we became good friends, we both had similar pasts. So that's why he was afraid of opening up to people, but then why would he go out with Aria?'

"_But now I realise being all alone you sacrifice your happiness…"_

'When that baka comes back home, I am so going to smack him'

* * *

It had taken a lot of will to leave the apartment. When he had looked back at Asuka, she looked…hurt. Nevertheless he had set off for Aria's house, which he had to walk to on account of the public transport system being destroyed in the last angel attack and Misato wasn't around to give him a lift. He didn't mind walking for a while though; it gave him some time alone and he needed the peace of mind.

The sun was up and shining, but it wasn't as hot today and he had recovered from his illness since Thursday. Not many people were up and about this Saturday morning as Shinji walked along the streets. His thoughts soon turned to Aria and what he thought of her. The young boy's first date with her at the movies had been nice. They had held hands while they watched the film. After the movie, they had talked all the way on their walk back to Aria's house. Shinji had learnt much about the young girl in their conversation. He had gotten so involved in the conversation he accidentally called her Asuka by mistake. Aria didn't mind, she said she had red hair so it was an honest mistake, but he couldn't help to think there was another reason to his slip-up.

The following two days at school had been spent with him and her sending messages all throughout class and then going off to lunch together also having long conversations about nothing. He had really grown to like this girl, she had a nice personality and she was so understanding. The only other thing that had happened was a sync test at Nerv with some surprising results. His sync ratio had lowered, but nowhere near as much as Asuka's. Rei's had gone up again, but thankfully she was still lower than Asuka. He knew Asuka hated when he beat her, and he couldn't imagine how she would feel if Rei got higher too.

After about one and a half hours of walking, Shinji finally arrived at his girlfriend's house. He had only seen it at nighttime when he walked her home and he had never set foot inside. When he took a look at it, it looked a lot smaller than he remembered. Nevertheless the young boy walked up to her door and rang the doorbell. He heard the chime ring out inside and heard a pair footsteps walking to the door. The door opened and Aria appeared in the doorway.

"Hello Aria" he said smiling.

"Oh Shinji it's you!" she said happily. "Come on in, make yourself at home"

Shinji followed the excited girl into the house. After closing the door behind him, the young boy looked around. Her house really was small, having only one bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom and a living room. Another thing that he noticed was that there was no one else.

"Aria, where are your parents?" Shinji asked.

For the first time he saw Aria's face sadden.

"I don't have any parents…" she replied.

"I'm sorry, I know the feeling"

"Don't worry about it"

"So you live here alone?"

Aria nodded her head. Shinji was very curious about how it was that she had come from America all by herself, but he didn't want to be rude.

"Anyway you look a little exhausted, you walk here?" she asked.

"Yeah"

"You must be thirsty, what would you like to drink?"

"Just water thanks"

The young girl ran off to the kitchen and took out a glass from the cupboard. She then went to the tap and turned it on pouring water into the empty glass. When it was filled she went back to Shinji and handed it to him. The young boy accepted the glass and drained its contents.

"You wanna see my room?" Aria asked.

"Sure"

Aria walked off to the only bedroom in the house and Shinji followed. Upon entering her room Shinji noticed it looked much like Asuka's except that it was much cleaner. Asuka usually had dirty clothes and underwear lying about, but Aria's room was nice and tidy. But then again she was expecting a guest and perhaps she had cleaned it up before he got here. However, there was some schoolwork on her desk. Aria bent over to pick up a book off the floor, unintentionally revealing her rear to the male audience. Shinji hadn't meant to look; he had been facing her direction when she had suddenly bent down. Extremely embarrassed he blushed and turned his head away.

'That skirt is a _little _short, did she do that on purpose? Nah it can't be, she's way too innocent.' Aria turned around to face Shinji again and noticed his red face.

"What's the matter Shinji?" she asked.

"Nothing" he replied quickly.

She shrugged it off. "Well that's my whole house, I know it's a little small but I just wanted to show you"

"That all?" he said dumbfounded.

"Oh you were expecting something?" she asked grinning.

"Well yes…I mean no…umm" he stuttered.

Aria giggled. "You are so funny when you're embarrassed. But I don't play an instrument or anything like that, so I can't really show you much here. However I did bring you here for a reason"

"What's that?" he asked.

Shinji looked on curiously as the young girl went behind her wardrobe. 'What is she doing?' he thought. But then he saw it; she had pulled out a bicycle.

"A bicycle?"

"Very observant Shinji, I had received this as a gift from someone. Unfortunately I don't know how to ride a bike, and I was hoping I could take a ride…with you" she said looking away.

Shinji couldn't help smiling.

"I don't mind in the least"

At once she brightened up and went over to hug Shinji. "Thank you, you are such a nice guy"

She then kissed him on the cheek and began to move the bicycle out of her room enthusiastically.

"Here let me help," he said holding the bike.

Together they carried the bike out of the house. They put it down on the ground and Aria went and locked her door. She rejoined Shinji as he was getting on. The bike was a female brand, but Shinji didn't really care. The seat was just large enough for two people to sit on it and Aria was a small girl.

"Alright Aria, you sit behind me and hold onto me tightly so you don't fall off"

The redhead got on the bike behind Shinji and placed her arms around his waist.

"Just find something to support your legs on and rest them on that"

Aria complied and soon Shinji had begun pedaling. They started off a little slow as Shinji was not used to riding a bike with the extra weight, plus he hadn't ridden a bike for a while. In next to no time Shinji had increased his speed quite significantly. He felt Aria's arms hold onto him tighter as they sped down the street. The young boy felt exhilaration as he whizzed past people, the wind sweeping past him blowing his and Aria's hair around. As they approached a hill Shinji pedaled faster and made it to the top. He felt a rush of adrenalin as the bike sped downhill. The bike was going very fast and he was having trouble controlling it.

Suddenly the bike hit a crack in the pavement and they went airborne for a few seconds, causing both their hearts to beat very fast. Fortunately Shinji managed to land properly and they continued their ride. The young boy cycled through the park, enjoying the scenery and the fresh air. The air felt cool as it rushed past him, giving him a nice relief from the blazing sun. After riding for a while his ass started to hurt and he stopped at a bench. The two got off the bike and sat down on the bench.

"That was amazing Shinji, really it was" said Aria ecstatic.

"Glad you enjoyed it, I got a little scared when we went downhill, but we got out okay"

"I wasn't afraid, I had complete trust in you, and I knew you could do it"

They both stayed silent just enjoying the other's presence. Aria placed her arm around Shinji's waist and rested her head on his shoulder. The couple stayed like that for a while until Aria decided it was time to go. They both got back onto the bike and Shinji rode all the way back to Aria's house. After they got off the bike, Aria unlocked and opened her door while Shinji carried the bike back in.

"It's been a great day Shinji, thank you for coming," she said happily.

"It was my pleasure honestly. I would have loved to stay longer but I'm getting a little worried about having left Asuka all alone"

"I understand completely, don't worry about it. Goodbye Shinji"

"Goodbye" he said and turned around to leave. For a moment he thought he saw her have a troubled look on her face but dismissed it.

The young boy exited her residence and began to walk back to his apartment.

* * *

She was bored as hell. She would make him pay. She would make him realise she was more important than some slut. After listening to Shinji's SDAT, Asuka had gone to her room in search for something to pass time. She did all her homework and read some books and magazines. After this the young girl had found herself with nothing to do. She didn't want to go shopping and she couldn't go to Hikari's house. The console was boring unless you versed someone else, as the computer was too easy.

Asuka lay down on her bed, attempting to wait the time over, but waiting was something Asuka just could not do. She kept fidgeting, getting back up and watching T.V only to switch it off as even more boring shows came on. The young girl cooked herself a meal both to satisfy hunger and pass time. After a time she had just resigned to sitting on the couch waiting for the male eva pilot to arrive.

The young girl heard the door open after a while, and looked to see who it was. Shinji entered and called out 'I'm home.' She was filled with a strange mix of both happiness and anger at seeing him come. She didn't take any time to make her presence known as she walked up to Shinji and slapped him hard on the cheek. Shocked and surprised he just looked at her dumbfounded.

"Don't give me that stupid look Ikari, you know very well what that was for"

"I didn't do anyth-"

"You left me here, bored out of my ass when I asked you to stay"

"I already told you, I said I would come to her house"

"I'm more important than her!"

"She's my girlfriend, don't be ridiculous"

"I am your roommate, your co-worker, your…" she paused for a while before saying it "friend…how am I being ridiculous?"

"Stop being so god darn selfish! I-" he was cut off by Asuka's lips on his. She pushed him up against a wall, increasing her attack aggressively. Shinji had no time to react and his body gave in as he accepted Asuka's passion. She twisted his hair painfully as if trying to make sure Shinji got no pleasure out of it.

But finally his mind came back into gear and he pushed Asuka off him. She just looked at him with disappointment and disgust.

"Do you love her?" she asked.

"I don't know I-"

"Do you love her?" she repeated louder.

"Well she's a great girl and-"

"DO YOU LOVE HER?" she shouted.

"I do have feelings for her"

Asuka just gritted her teeth and slapped him as hard as she could releasing all her anger that had built up the past few days.

"You are so pathetic you baka! Don't ever come near me again!" she shouted.

She then walked off to her room and slammed her door loudly. Shinji stood there absolutely stunned. He had expected her to be difficult, but not like this. This is not what he had wanted. His knees started to wobble as he felt weak, he felt a great pain in his chest and he felt tears start to run down his cheek. The young boy collapsed to the floor crying softly, not wanting to be heard by Asuka. The large pain in his cheek only served as a constant reminder of what had happened.

After a while his stomach grumbled, he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. Shinji got up and wiped his tears off with his hand. He went over to the kitchen and began preparing a meal for himself, both to satisfy his hunger and to get his mind off the current situation. All too soon he had finished making his meal and he sat down at the dining table to begin eating. As he ate the food, all alone at the table he couldn't stop thinking 'how did it come to this…?'

* * *

The redhead lay on her bed sobbing uncontrollably. 'How did this happen?' she thought. Unable to come up with an answer she just cried even more.

"I…love him," she said out loud. "I love him, I can't believe it but I love him, I fell for him, Shinji…"

The moonlight shone down on her making her glistening tears sparkle and her red hair shine.

"I know he doesn't love me, he loves the other girl, I know its true, but I still love him anyway. Why does it have to be this way?"

Suddenly her face became emotionless and she looked up at her ceiling blankly. The young girl sat up remembering her mission.

"Adam's call has become too strong to resist anymore, it is time," she said moving off her bed.

* * *

Asuka was furious at Shinji, there was no way she was going to forgive him this time. Eager to get her mind off the boy, she tried to count prime numbers or make as many sentences with the word 'bitch' in it as she could. But her mind kept coming back to Shinji and _her_. 'Wait that's it, Aria Swung-Oak, what a stupid name, I'll make a better name with it'

The redhead thought for a while, 'The biggest baka's baka, no that's lame. Spasticated Constipated Cock Sucker, I like that one.' Suddenly her cell phone rang, interrupting her thoughts, and she wondered who would be calling her now. Then she heard it and her eyes went wide. The angel alarms klaxons blared loudly throughout the whole city…

* * *

End Notes: Some of you might say I'm speeding up the plot now, but I don't think so, I explained pretty detailed what had happened in the three days I skipped. Second of all this fic is meant to focus on Shinji and Asuka, not Shinji and Aria, however I put in a scene to sort of show how their dates would be like. Anyway its not like that much happened in those three days anyway and I am sort of wanting to speed up the story just a little.

When Asuka kisses Shinji don't misunderstand what's happening. She has been literally depraved of attention the past three days and she is on edge. Asuka is desperate to have Shinji notice her, although of course there is a small part of her that wanted to kiss Shinji.

I like the scene with Aria saying she loves Shinji, it looks like its Asuka for a while, damn I'm good :D.

If anyone wants to comment on why Aria had a bike behind her wardrobe, I seriously don't care, just pretend she had enough space. Second of all if anyone says it's never said in the series that Shinji can ride a bike, I will say any Japanese boy who can't ride a bike isn't Japanese (no racism intended).


	17. Revelations

Author's Notes: Ok here is chapter 17 done. This is the second part of chapter 16. Actually I realised now why chapter 16 was so short, it was only half the day, well here's the other half. Also I recently discovered a bug with italics in fanfiction, for all you early readers you can re-read the first chapters and it should make a lot more sense now.

To answer my reviews if you haven't figured out who Aria is yet, you will in this chapter, but she is most definitely not evil. To Yamithecardmaster I will mention your review in my notes purely because of the fact you said 'Arigato Deadlypole,' it made me feel warm inside reading that, I don't know why. To Darknemo it goes without saying I love your reviews, of course you write more than those 'ZOMG! Write more' comments. Actually I love you too Darknemo Deadlypole hugs Darknemo, Darknemo rolls his eyes at Deadlypole. And I added your freakin line, so stop whining already :P. Nah honestly I thought it was a good line and it fits the mood I was trying to create thank you very much. As courtesy to many people I have removed the anagram part in the previous chapter, it was too much of a giveaway and ruined the surprise element, it was too random and ruined the atmosphere I was creating so its gone. The author's notes about it have been moved to the end of this chapter for all those who read the new version of the chapter. And Darknemo you managed to once again bag out my sex scenes, geez I bet you sit down all day just thinking of ways to do it. 'Hmmm I've done poorly written, let's now say the lack of sex is inconsistent, yeah that'll work.' Well I actually purposely did it like that to send a sublimal message. Shinji's first relationship was based on sex, what happened? Shinji and Asuka break up oo, boohoo relationships based on sex are bad, Shinji's new relationship has no sex involved purely feelings for each other, you know the rest. Ok and also after finishing this story I will probably re-write the first chapters, I realise the sex scenes are poorly written, but I will change that later. Finally to Itansha to answer your question on Shinji first off he will not rape her again because he vowed he would never do it again and the second part of your question will be answered at the end of the chapter.

Well anyways enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 17: Revelations

"An angel attack now?" said Asuka out loud.

The redhead got up quickly and moved to her door. She wrenched open her door and ran into the dining room to find Shinji sitting at the dining table. Asuka noticed his eyes were red and there were remnants of dry tears on his face, had he been crying? Shrugging it off she quickly moved over to the sullen boy.

"Come on you baka, an angel's attacking, we gotta go now!" she shouted at him.

"Asuka…" he said trying to say something.

"Look you're temporarily forgiven, so get up already!"

Shinji just drooped down on his chair more. Rolling her eyes at his behaviour she went around to the back of his chair and lifted him up by the shoulders. Finally the young boy complied and got out of the chair. The young girl grabbed his hand, the uninjured one this time, and pulled him along. She opened the door and ran down the stairs, not bothering to close the door behind her. As they exited their apartment a red sports car pulled up at the curb. The car honked at them erratically, and a purple haired woman put her head out the window.

"Come on you guys, get in already!" Misato shouted.

The two eva pilots got into the back of the car and Misato slammed the accelerator. The car shot down the street and Asuka turned to look at Shinji. He had a gloomy expression on his face and it looked like he was brooding. She flicked him on the head startling him a bit as he looked at her with a confused expression.

"Now's not the time to be depressed third child" she said in response to his face. Though truthfully, it was hurting her to see him sad.

"What do you know…" he said bitterly.

"And here I thought I had rubbed off on you, where's your perseverance? Look Shinji just forget about what I said at the moment alright?"

Misato saw Asuka's actions in the rear view mirror, but decided to lay off her teasing at the time being.

"Alright Asuka" he said, his mood improving slightly.

The two sat in silence the rest of the way to Nerv. Upon arriving at Nerv Misato drove the car into the car elevator as the two eva pilots got off. The two teens ran down the corridor to the elevator and Shinji remembered the last two times he had run to the elevator. Both times he had been chasing after Asuka and received a door in the face, but this time they would go together. After entering the elevator Asuka pressed the floor number for the eva cages and the elevator began its descent.

As they were going down, the elevator rocked from a nearby shockwave. The shockwave caused Shinji to fall into Asuka, who caught him in her arms. The two stayed in their accidental embrace, neither of them willing to break it.

"What the hell is going on out there?" asked Asuka.

"The angel must be inside Nerv already" commented Shinji.

"That can't be! I never saw the angel!"

Another shockwave rocked the elevator, dispelling any of the redhead's doubts. The two were unable to look at each other and settled for resting their heads on each other's shoulder. Asuka who had been depraved of attention the past few days and who had admitted she missed Shinji's affection didn't mind all that much. Eventually the elevator reached the eva cages and the two broke the embrace at the same time. They both entered their respective changing rooms and dressed into their plugsuits.

"Where's Wondergirl?" asked Asuka wondering.

Shinji just shrugged his shoulders. After changing, the two eva pilots ran to the eva cages and entered their respective evas. Both of them noticed Unit 00 was gone, had Rei gone on without them? However their thoughts were interrupted as Misato came up on the view screen to give them their briefing.

"The angel is currently deep within Nerv, we are unaware of how we were not able to detect its presence till now" said Misato.

"Where's the first child?" asked Asuka.

"She is not piloting on account of the fact that her Unit 00 was taken over by the angel"

"So we have to fight an angel and Unit 00?" asked Shinji.

"Correct"

"Asuka's sync ratio is 55.4 and Shinji's is 33.7" interrupted Maya.

Misato made a pained face before resuming her briefing.

"Alright, we don't have any choice so we're going to have to send you both regardless of how low your sync ratios are. You make sure to back each other up. You will be going down the access shaft that the angel took. The angel is currently moving too slow to be falling so it is presumed the angel is floating down, you should be able to catch up to it"

"Hai" they said in unison.

Both pilots willed their evas to move towards the shaft. They hesitated momentarily before jumping down. Both teens felt their stomach drop as they free-falled. Both felt an adrenalin rush as they sped down to the depths of Nerv. After falling for a few minutes they both saw the outline of an eva in the distance.

"You are approximately 800 metres from the target, pattern blue is confirmed, get ready for conta-" said Misato on the comm as it turned into static.

"We've lost contact with Misato, we're on our own," said Asuka.

Suddenly Unit 00 was starting to become bigger really fast and the two pilots were momentarily confused, but then realised they had reached the bottom. They braced for impact and the two evas slammed into the ground, creating a massive shockwave. With their sync ratios so low, the evas took a while to get up from the impact. As the dust cleared what they saw was totally unexpected.

"A-Aria?" said Shinji first, noticing the small outline of a redheaded girl next to Rei's eva.

"This is ridiculous, she's the angel?" said Asuka bewildered.

"That can't be…" said Shinji.

Aria smiled at the young boy. "I've been waiting for you, Shinji. I knew you would come"

"Why Aria?! Why are you doing this? Did you betray me? You said you had feelings for me…was it just so that you could manipulate me?" Shinji shouted out.

"No Shinji, my feelings are genuine, I love you. I truly love you, but this is something I must do" Aria replied.

"Aria! No! You…you can't be an angel…"

"I hate to say it, but I told you so," said Asuka to Shinji.

"Just shutup Asuka! Now is not the time to rub it in my face that you were right about her" said Shinji.

Asuka just grew furious again and took out her prog-knife.

"Alright I'll solve this stupid problem right now" said Asuka.

Asuka attacked Aria with her knife only to have it stopped by a series of octagons.

"An A.T Field?!" shouted Asuka.

"Yes. You Lilims call it so. The holy region that must not be invaded by anyone, the light of the soul" said Aria.

"She is an angel after all," said Shinji angrily.

Shinji burned with a new anger of betrayal. His sync ratio went up and he charged towards Aria. Unit 00, however, stopped his eva, and the two began a wrestle, struggling for dominance. Asuka herself went after Aria, but her A.T field was too weak and her attacks were all deflected by Aria's impenetrable barrier. She never once thought to help Shinji though.

Aria continued on to find Adam. She opened heaven's gate and floated through the entrance. Asuka took in the sight with shock and horror; there was a pool of what looked like LCL, which contained millions of parts of evas. It was an eva graveyard. Shinji had finally broken free from Unit 00's wrestling match and followed through only to have his leg caught by Unit 00's hand. However Shinji stopped struggling momentarily as he took in the same sight that Asuka had seen.

The angel continued on without hesitation, Asuka still trying relentlessly to puncture her A.T Field while Shinji was struggling to get Unit 00 to let go of him. Aria and Asuka came onto a giant white being crucified to a cross, with a giant lance through the midsection.

"Adam our mother being. Those born from Adam must return to Adam? No this is not Adam…this is…this is Lilith" she said astounded.

Finally Shinji broke free of Unit 00's grip and ran towards Aria. Unit 00 decided to go after Asuka instead and charged at her. Being taken totally by surprise, Asuka did not react in time and was knocked over by Unit 00. Unit 00 pinned Asuka to the floor. Suddenly a flash came from nowhere, no one had noticed but a blue haired girl had come and projected her A.T Field, neutralising the angel's. Shinji grabbed Aria unhindered, his face a mixture of anger and sadness.

Shinji looked at her and said two words, "Why Aria?"

Asuka stopped struggling and decided to listen in on the conversation.

"I've been destined to live forever, even if humanity is annihilated as a result. However I am able to die. To be or not to be, it makes no difference to me. My death is the only absolute liberty" Aria replied.

Suddenly all of Shinji's anger dissipated. "Aria…you can't…you can't be asking me to kill you? I won't…I can't…"

"She's an angel Shinji! Stop talking to her and just finish her!" shouted Asuka.

'She can be really cold sometimes,' thought Shinji.

"Shinji if I live, then all humanity dies. If I die, then you, and every other man, woman and child, including Asuka, will have a chance to grasp the future" Aria said interrupting his thoughts.

"No! Surely there's a way to avoid it. Come back with me, you could forget about all this. You don't have to do this!" said Shinji desperately.

"How can you say that? She became your girlfriend, just to use you for her own gains. She just happened to fall in love with you and is giving you the choice to kill her!" shouted Asuka again.

"No, it's not true, it was _I_ who became her boyfriend to use her. Aria I must tell you that-"

"I already know Shinji, I've always known," said Aria interrupting.

"Then why?" he asked.

"Because I love you, and to love is not loving someone perfect, but loving someone imperfect, perfectly. Love doesn't always have a happy ending, it simply doesn't end"

Asuka stayed silent this time.

"Aria please you can still have a happy ending…" he said.

"No…my true name is Tabris, I am the Angel of Free Will. This is why I was given this form. Unlike my brothers, I could choose my destiny, like you Lilims do everyday. But the price of free will is responsibility. Once you make a choice, you cannot erase the past and you must accept the consequences of your chosen path. I could no longer resist the call of Adam, so I left the life of Aria Swung-Oak behind and now here we are. You chose to come here to stop me, now is the time for you to accept the outcome of your choice"

"Aria I…can't"

"Please Shinji, one must live and the other must die. You must be the one to live this is my wish. Shinji…I'm glad I met you. You Lilims have short fragile lives and so your emotions are very strong. I can understand you better now, Shinji. You are all so beautiful"

Shinji was crying, even though he had only been using Aria, she had become his friend. Shinji wasn't one who could kill his friends.

"Thank you Shinji, my life was meaningful because of you," she said smiling.

"Kill her!" shouted Asuka making Shinji react, his hand squeezed automatically, and Aria's tiny body was crushed instantly.

Shinji stared at his eva's hand for a while in disbelief. There was blood, real blood on it, dripping off slowly. The young boy lost it and screamed. When Aria had died her hold over Unit 00 was lost and Asuka was released. The redhead threw off the offending eva and heard Shinji screaming. She instantly regretted what she had said; she couldn't even begin to comprehend what Shinji was feeling.

Shinji passed out, unable to handle the stress, and his eva slumped. Asuka looked down at his eva a mix of emotions swirling in her. Part of her wanted to comfort him as she could see he was in pain. Part of her was depressed that he had hesitated in killing Aria, she knew it could only mean he really did have feelings for her. She was also confused as to what Shinji had said.

"_No, it's not true, it was _I_ who became her boyfriend to use her…"_

'What did he mean by that? What other reason would he date her other than liking her?'

Asuka shrugged it off for the moment and went back to the task at hand. The young girl picked up Shinji's eva and carried him back to the access shaft where they entered in from. She looked up into the long, seemingly endless tunnel. She had no idea how she was going to get back up with Shinji. Her plan was never made as Shinji's entry plug was ejected somehow. Asuka looked at it in confusion and came up with an idea.

She took Shinji's entry plug out of his eva and placed it on the ground. The young girl then exited her own eva and moved down to where his plug was. She moved her hands onto his hatch to open it and swore in pain, as it was extremely hot. Gritting her teeth she once again grabbed his hatch, and opened it hissing in pain. A little LCL poured out and she looked inside the entry plug to see Shinji's prone form inside. Asuka quickly picked up the unconscious boy, carrying him with ease as she was still pumped with adrenalin.

The young girl went back to her eva, closed her entry plug and reinserted herself. The plug filled up with LCL and Asuka moved into her usual position, placing Shinji's head on her lap. Asuka looked up and began the long climb back up the shaft…

* * *

"What in the world is going on down there?" shouted a frantic Misato.

"We lost contact with the pilots exactly 57 minutes ago and have been trying to re-establish communication with them since then" replied Maya.

"We need to know what's going on!" Misato shouted yet again.

"Misato calm down, there's nothing we can do at the moment except trust in them," said Ritsuko.

Misato stopped pacing around and just sighed. "I'm just worried, they're both my children"

"Have a cup of coffee," said Ritsuko handing her friend a cup.

"Thanks" Misato said sitting down.

"-to Misato. Earth to Misato. Why isn't anyone responding dammit?!" said a voice over the comms.

"Asuka!" cried out the Major.

"Well der, who else would it be?" said Asuka annoyed.

"Are you alright? Is Shinji alright?" Misato asked worried.

The young girl seemed to pause for a moment before replying.

"We're both fine, I had to get Shinji out of his eva and into mine. I am currently climbing up the shaft we came in through, I think I'm almost at the top now"

"Did you defeat the angel?"

"Yeah, Shinji killed her…" she said trailing off.

"Her?"

The redhead stayed silent.

"Well I'm just glad you two are okay" she said relieved.

After a few minutes they saw the red form of Unit 02 climbing out of the shaft. After reaching the top Shinji had woken up. He opened his eyes to see Asuka's face looking grim. He then realised his position and blushed quickly moving off her. Asuka was a little surprised at his return to consciousness and she hadn't noticed him blushed.

"What happened? Why am I…" he paused looking around "…in your eva?"

"Don't get any perverted ideas, you were unconscious and I couldn't bring back up Unit 01, so I took you out and placed you in here and climbed back up the shaft" she said attempting to sound angry, but Asuka was feeling just as down as Shinji.

Shinji just stayed silent, he was still in desolation over what had happened. So much had happened, so many conflicting emotions, he didn't know what to feel. The young boy was disgusted at how much Asuka wanted Aria dead, he expected her to strongly dislike her but not want her dead. Asuka, the reason this had all started, what was he going to say to her now? His plan had failed, and there was no way he was going to do it again. He felt so horrible; he had been so angry at Aria for betraying him, but Aria had forgiven him for betraying her.

Asuka's entry plug was ejected and the two eva pilots got out neither of them looking at each other. A group of medics were already assembled waiting to cater to their needs.

"Are you two alright? Do you need any medical attention?" asked one of the medics.

"No we're fine," they said in unison.

They heard some pushing and shoving and watched slightly surprised as the tactical operations director pushed her way through to them. As Misato reached them she pulled them both into a big bear hug.

"I was so worried about you two, we lost communications and had no idea what happened. What exactly did happen?"

"I killed her, I killed the angel, I murdered her…" said Shinji trailing off.

"Shinji it was just an angel" said Misato trying to cheer up Shinji.

'Not good Misato' thought Asuka.

"That angel just happened to be my friend! She told me to kill her because she wanted me to live. I don't deserve to live she was the better person. She wasn't a monster and I…I killed her…" he said trailing off, he couldn't cry anymore.

Asuka just avoided her guardian's gaze. Misato looked at them unable to do or say anything to comfort them so she turned around.

"When you're ready I'll…I'll take you home. Take as much time as you want" Misato said before walking off.

The two eva pilots felt a little guilty for making Misato feel bad, but they really weren't in the mood to discuss what had happened. Shinji and Asuka went off together to the changing rooms, neither of them looking or saying anything to the other. They stripped their plugsuits off and both took showers to wash off the LCL before changing into new clothes. As they exited their changing rooms Asuka turned to the young boy.

"Shinji…" she started, trying to say something.

"Yes?" he asked.

The redhead didn't really know what she had been trying to say. She paused for a while. "I've been meaning to ask you something," she asked suddenly remembering, covering up her mistake.

"Go ahead"

"I…I was listening to your SDAT to pass time and I came across this weird recording with Kaji. Did Misato really try to kill Kaji? Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"You listened to that tape? Well yeah Misato was ordered to kill Kaji, I didn't even know about it till recently, so it's not something you forgot, neither of us knew"

Asuka was just about to ask him about the ring, but she didn't want him to know she took it so she decided to ask him about the 15th angel.

"Kaji also mentioned the 15th angel, what happened in that battle? I can remember it vaguely, there was some angel in the sky and it was trying to invade my mind, but you said something and I destroyed the angel. Why didn't you tell me about how the battle went, and what did you say? All I could remember was 'Because I…',"

Despite being annoyed by the redhead's questions it momentarily took his mind off what had just happened. He didn't know if he should just admit it right there and then. The redhead already knew so much, plus he really didn't care that much about anything at the moment.

"I didn't tell you, because I didn't want you to remember the painful experience of having your mind violated. About what I said, I said…'Because I love you',"

"_Because I…love you Asuka"_

Her memory jogged, he wasn't lying she knew it. The sentence repeated in her head dozens of times, she just couldn't believe what he had just said.

"You…you love me?" she asked surprised.

"Surprising isn't it? Even after all that crap you put me through, despite how you cold-heartedly wanted me to kill Aria and the fact that you've rejected me and told me we will never be together millions of times I…still do"

Asuka's barrier shattered, this pathetic excuse for a boy had destroyed her defenses and found a way in her heart. 'No this can't be, I can't accept it. I don't love him; it's as simple as that. Why does he make me feel so strange then…I don't want to be alone, no I don't need anyone. What am I saying? This just cannot happen. He will abandon me like everyone else does'

Asuka disliked him and wanted him at the same time. He was already in such emotional distress she didn't want to add to it. Another part of her wanted her to hurt him, as much as she could, he wasn't worthy of her. Such a turmoil of emotions raged inside the redhead, the only one she understood being anger. She focused on it, she couldn't lose herself to Shinji, she was superior and he was just a pathetic boy.

"No it's not true, you are a liar Ikari, just like always"

"I'm not lying I-"

"No you loved _her_, I know you did. You can't just switch people like that"

"I never loved Aria, yes I liked her, she was a great friend, but I never loved her. It's always been you"

"But you said…you said you loved her"

"No I didn't, you asked if I loved her and I never answered yes"

"_DO YOU LOVE HER?!" _

"_I do have feelings for her"_

He was right she knew it; he had never said he loved her. But that still didn't mean it wasn't true.

"Well regardless if you didn't admit it to me, you loved that bitch. No matter what you tell me, you still went out with her, why would you do that if you loved me? You're full of crap Shinji. You're just coming to me now, because I'm the last option. Now that Aria is dead you don't have anyone else. Well I am _not_ going to be used, you go find someone else to feel sorry for you!"

"No Asuka I-"

"Save your bullshit Ikari, I'm leaving" she said turning around.

The redhead hadn't given him the chance to explain himself because she was afraid; afraid she might fall for him, if she hadn't already. Shinji couldn't take the stress; everything just went from bad to worse. Aria dead, now Asuka leaving him forever, he didn't have the will to go on, but he did try one last attempt and grabbed Asuka's wrist.

"Please don't go," he said pleading.

"You're out of luck third child," she said shaking his hand off her and walking off. She wanted to show him what it felt like when he left her this morning after she asked him to stay. She would show him who he was dealing with. However as she walked away a sickening feeling developed in her gut.

Shinji watched in disbelief as the redhead walked down the corridor and out of sight. He collapsed, he had admitted it, finally told her his feelings and she just shoved it in his face. The tears couldn't come, he just couldn't cry, he couldn't let it out. The poor distressed boy didn't know what to do, all alone, on the floor. Then his face turned into rage, there was one person he could vent his anger out on, if only to make him feel better. He went off in the direction of the commander's office.

* * *

Asuka had gone to Misato's office. She just wanted to leave this depressing place behind. The young girl knocked on the Major's door and it was opened almost immediately by Misato.

"Hi Asuka, you ready to go now?" she asked warmly.

"Yeah, lets go home"

"Where's Shinji?" Misato asked concerned.

"He's not coming" Asuka lied. Truth is she didn't want to see him.

"Oh ok" Misato replied, thinking he didn't want to come because of her.

Misato left her office and closed the door. Then the two girls made their way to the car elevator in silence. It was so quiet they heard every little sound. Every sound reminded Asuka of Shinji and she scowled angrily trying to rid her thoughts of the boy. Fortunately for her they had arrived at the car elevator and she eagerly hopped inside Misato's car. The Major got into the driver's seat and the elevator began its ascent to the surface.

"So how is Shinji?" Misato asked.

"Would you stop asking about him? Don't you care about me as well? About what I went through?"

Misato just decided it was better to stay silent. Asuka seemed very agitated, there was a sadness about her and something was bugging her. The Major had absolutely no idea what had happened, she didn't even know who Aria was because she had been absent the whole time Aria and Shinji had been dating. But Misato was very cautious about discussing the event because so far she had been met with gloomy expressions; she was quite at a loss at what to do. The Major did decide, however, that at the moment there was nothing she could do.

There wasn't a single star visible in the night sky, and clouds had covered the moon. The darkness gave an oppressive feeling to the two girls as they drove back to their apartment. Despite the last angel being defeated, neither of them felt happy, neither of them felt proud at saving the world.

Upon arriving at their apartment, Misato parked the car. They both got out of the car and entered their building. The pair took the elevator up to their floor. They exited the elevator and went to their door. The door had been left wide open, and the two of them entered their residence closing the door behind them. Thankfully nothing had been taken; obviously no one had come in. Asuka immediately retreated to her room, just wanting to find some peace in sleep. Misato sat down on their couch and silently pondered on how Shinji was doing.

* * *

The young boy stood in front of the doors to the commander's office with trepidation. Even though he came to blow off at his father, he still had second thoughts. However, there was nothing to stop him now, and he didn't care anymore. Without any hesitation he pushed open the door and walked through. Instantly he saw the commander's imposing figure behind his desk. At Shinji's entry the commander looked down at him curiously.

"Pilot Ikari, state the reason for your presence" he said nonchalantly.

"To inform you, _your _plan has failed you bastard"

"Oh?"

"How can you be so cold? Is there any part inside of you that still resembles my father?"

"Irrelevant questions, why have you come here?"

"Don't you get it?" said Shinji the tears finally starting to trickle down his cheek, "I lost her, I lost Asuka. Your suggestion to use jealousy failed, I should never have done it. To make matters worse the girl I chose to use to make Asuka jealous was an angel. You know what else? She was a good person, I liked her, she was a good friend, and she loved me. She loved me, the bastard that I am, even though she knew I was using her all along"

The boy couldn't hold back anymore, the dam had been broken and tears flowed freely down his face.

"Can you believe that? She forgave me and I _killed_ her. She said I was a good person, what a load of crock. All I was doing was manipulating her to get Asuka back, but I never should have stooped to your level and used someone for my own needs in the first place"

"Pilot Ikari, I merely gave you a suggestion as the second child is a difficult person. In the end you were the one who chose to follow my advice" he said emotionlessly.

"FATHER YOU DAMN BASTARD, YOU KNEW I WAS DESPERATE DON'T GIVE ME THAT PATHETIC EXCUSE! I could have gotten her back another way, but now my hope is all lost. Why, how father? How can you forget the pain of loss? What am I supposed to do now?"

"Son…" said Gendo.

Shinji looked up, surprised as being addressed as 'son' by him. The commander removed his glasses and fixed his gaze upon the young eva pilot.

"I never forget what I had with your mother, but the means by which for my instrumentality scenario to occur are gone, and so I turned to the only thing left. To make sure that at least you have a chance. You know who I am; I cannot change myself this far ahead. I only suggested to you what I saw as the most successful course of action"

Shinji sighed, "Asuka's right I am pathetic, I don't deserve her anyway. I guess this is my punishment for the sin I committed." The young boy had stopped crying and paused for a while, the silence dragging on. "I have nothing left to say"

The commander placed his tinted glasses back on, once again hiding his facial expression.

"One last piece of advice pilot Ikari…do not give up hope. Dismissed"

Shinji turned around and left the commander's office without saying another word. As he closed the doors behind him and began to walk down the corridor his mind became lost in thoughts. The young boy felt much relieved at having let out all his anger and tears, but still felt a sense of hopelessness. He remembered how he had been desperate to get Asuka back and his father had suggested using jealousy. This seemed like a good idea at the time, and he never once thought about how it would affect the person being used.

On the first day back at school, he had decided to go find some girl that was willing to date him. Of course with the arrival of Aria, his plan had been delayed but then he saw her as the perfect candidate. She was bright and cheerful and it was obvious she liked him. He then waited till Toji pushed him into asking her out so it didn't look suspicious. The only person who was suspicious was Kensuke, but he couldn't say anything so it was fine.

Two things happened that screwed up his plans. First off he grew to like Aria, and dreaded the moment he would break up with her. Shinji didn't want to see her hurt, but had been too far into the plan to back out. The second was that she was an angel. Of all the girls he picked, he had to pick an angel to go out with, talk about bad luck. The most annoying thing was that Asuka had been so close to breaking her stubbornness; it had almost been worth it. But like all other times, he had failed; she had rejected him even after he admitted he loved her.

To say he felt depressed was an understatement. The young boy felt like such a horrible person, not only had he been using Aria, but he had killed her. It seemed like nothing had gone right, he knew things never worked out to how you planned, but did it have to fail completely? Shinji also didn't know how he'd face Asuka now, and he didn't want to see Misato either as she would ask questions which he wouldn't want to answer.

The male eva pilot looked at his options, he could go home with Misato and Asuka but he really didn't want to. But then what else could he do? There was no way he'd stay at Nerv after what had happened; besides he always felt this place was depressing. Maybe he could stay at one of his friend's places. With this Shinji continued on to the elevator. The young boy pressed the button and waited for the lift to come up. 'Why is it coming up? Didn't I use this same lift before?'

As the elevator door opened he was met with the sight of the first child.

"Rei?" he asked surprised.

"What is it Shinji?" she asked confused.

"Never mind, where are you going now?"

"I am returning to the surface so that I may proceed to my apartment," she answered.

"Would you mind if I stayed at your apartment with you tonight?" he asked.

"It is acceptable, you will cause me no issues. May I ask why you request to stay in my residence tonight?"

"A lot has happened today and I just can't face Misato and Asuka, don't worry I'll return home tomorrow"

"I understand. Very well then let us proceed"

Shinji nodded in affirmative and entered the elevator. The two stayed in silence as the elevator ascended. Rei decided to break the silence.

"That girl, the angel, she approached me on Tuesday and said that she was the same as me. I should have realised then that she was an angel and I could have told you and-"

"Rei please, don't try to place the blame on yourself. Its ok, I'll deal with it. No one suspected that, I mean Asuka thought there was something strange about her but I doubt she thought Aria was an angel"

"You just looked very distressed, I am told that this is called 'cheering someone up,' I don't really understand it, but if it makes someone feel better than it is worth trying"

Shinji couldn't help smiling a little; Rei was so oblivious when it came to human emotions, but it was nice to see her trying to make him feel better even if she didn't understand what she was doing. The young boy went over to the blue haired girl and embraced her warmly. He needed comfort and she gave it to him as she hugged the boy back. He held onto her tightly, fearing the loss of this temporary reprieve from pain.

The elevator reached its destination and the two eva pilots got off. The pair exited Nerv and headed in the direction of Rei's apartment. The night sky was completely black as no stars were visible and clouds covered the moon. All was quiet, as if the entire city was sleeping. A cool night breeze blew about them, making the two eva pilots shiver slightly.

Shinji took Rei's hand and she entwined her fingers with his. As they walked hand in hand, Shinji couldn't help but remember how he had walked like this with Aria. He could see her smiling face, the cute way she would look at him when he was talking with her, then an explosion of blood. She was gone; it was so hard to accept. Just this day he had been riding a bike with her, had her holding him tightly and now she was gone forever. Tears threatened to come again, but he had cried all his worth in the commander's office, and he couldn't cry anymore.

Finally the two arrived at the apartment and relief filled Shinji. He knew he could temporarily find peace with sleep, perhaps he would feel better tomorrow. The pair entered the building and walked up the stairs to Rei's room. Arriving at her door, Rei opened it and the two stepped inside, closing the door behind them. Shinji noticed the place looked a lot tidier than the last time he had come. He supposed Rei was really trying to improve herself.

The young boy let go of Rei's hand and sat down on her couch. The blue haired girl grabbed her nightgown and began to disrobe.

"Rei I know you don't understand modesty but please go change in the bathroom" Shinji said blushing.

Rei simply nodded and entered her bathroom, closing the door behind her. The male eva pilot went to her cupboard and took out a blanket just as he had done last time. He lay down on the couch, pulling the blanket over him. Soon Rei had come out of the bathroom dressed in her nightgown. The young boy looked at Rei, noting that she looked really beautiful. Unlike Asuka who had a strong attractive beauty, Rei was more the mysterious and calm beauty. The young girl went over to Shinji and kissed him on the forehead before moving to her bed. Rei lay down on her bed and pulled her covers over her.

"Goodnight Rei"

"Goodnight Shinji"

At last Shinji was finally able to close his eyes and find some comfort in sleep.

* * *

The redhead was moving about restlessly in her bed. First off she had wanted to go to sleep because she wanted to just forget about everything at the moment. But then she remembered about her nightmares and she didn't have the strength to endure one. Then again she was really tired and perhaps she could take the risk. Frustrated Asuka threw her covers off of her and sat up on her bed. She looked around the room; she didn't think she could handle another sleepless night.

The young girl then opened her drawer randomly, just looking through it to do something. An object caught her eye, the ring. Asuka picked up the beautiful ring and examined it. 'This ring, I understand what Kaji meant now…it was meant for me all along. It was so obvious when I think about it now, that baka loves me, me of all people…'

Upon reading the inscription a single tear trickled down the redhead's cheek and dropped onto the floor. 'Love is forever, that's what it says…my mum's love wasn't forever what bullcrap' she thought, another tear making its way down her face.

"…_Love doesn't always have a happy ending, it simply doesn't end"_

The tears came freely now, all those feelings she had been holding back flowing free. Asuka the proud arrogant girl who never cried, had finally broken down all because a little boy named Shinji Ikari…

* * *

End Notes: If I made at least one person cry after reading this then I have succeeded, if you didn't feel anything when reading this you are a cold emotionless bastard :P. Wow Aria's an angel not many people expected that, but that's why its good. However there are many clues, which you can work it out from. I also purposely didn't give her the same personality as Kaworu, because I just didn't think that if Kaworu was a girl that he'd act like a poof (Sorry to all you Kaworu lovers, I hate this guy out of all the eva characters he just annoyed me . Even Mana who isn't part of the series but some stupid game has a better character), any parallels to Mana's character is unintentional but I guess it helped to throw off readers anyway. Oh btw I liked Girlfriend Of Steel, despite my earlier comment, fun game :D, especially the second one hehe.

Man did I get you all good though, I think EVERYONE thought that Kaji suggested to use jealousy, I even had Itansha complain that I might have forgotten about the Gendo/Shinji talk. Like sif I would forget my own plot come on! I remember all the details of this story, well mostly anyway, don't doubt my genius :P. You see I was thinking what advice would Gendo give to his son to get back with Asuka. The answer hit me straight, of course he would suggest to use someone else, that's what Gendo always does. I know why everyone thought that Kaji suggested it though, its because he went out with Aria after Kaji's talk but the point is he initiated his plan before that, though as it seems no one noticed the line 'And so with this conclusion plus the advice he was given Shinji decided to take on a different and risky approach which would hopefully start tomorrow' in chapter 13.

Itansha one of my reviewers Xolodus has said something that answers your question, quoting 'I was really wondering when Shinji was going to shed some tears over the crappy situation he was in. If the love of my life suddenly couldn't remember that I loved her and she loved me...Id cry quite a bit...I can imagine the pain Shinji is feeling cause hes dating a girl that he really doesn't want to be dating...He might have a crush on her, but he is in love with someone else...and he has to take measures to win that love back, but it HAS to be taking a heavy toll on him...even though hes always playing it off and acting like he's happy when he isn't.' He was also trying to force Asuka to admit feelings, anyways I hope I answered your question.

About Aria's name I created it by making an anagram of Kaworu Nagisa, see Aria Swung-Oak. If anyone worked out it was anagram for Kaworu Nagisa before I revealed it, you are a genius. It took me near two hours of playing around with letters to come up with her name, I almost gave up to, but then I came up with her name. I thought it was a little dodgy, but my readers wouldn't argue about her name so I put it in.


	18. The Last Resort

Author's Notes: Yay 18th chapter woohoo. This chapter was SO hard to write and not just because I had been constantly interrupted by my brother (honest to god, I was getting so annoyed, I just wanted to write the story and my bro kept using the comp).

Don't lie Darknemo, you have felt something deep down inside right? Yes and about Asuka, although you already know I did intend her to act the way she did because I wanted to show that the eva characters are not goodie two-shoes. Both of them are human and I wanted to show that. Liked your comparison about the bulldog, guess it made me understand you a little better :P. I won't say if it'll be easy on Shinji or not in the next chapter, read and find out. To Yami, thank you for calling me a genius, but I was joking, still I do appreciate the praise :D. To Intasha yes you are right about Shinji, it seems like he is returning to the canon, however you miss out on one point. Because Shinji loves her, it throws up too much turmoil inside him to strangle Asuka e.t.c. About Gendo initiating his third impact, the pilots are too independent, both Shinji and Rei wouldn't allow it, and he needs both of them. Yes Seele can still initiate third impact, that was mentioned and that was what Gendo is trying to prevent now. But thankyou for your review, it was very thought out, I know I lack full continuity as it gets hard to keep up with my story as it gets bigger. Also how is Aria like kaworu from TOILI? I actually came up with Aria being an angel before reading TOILI (you see I only read it recently), so yeah. I read TOILI because people were saying it was good, though I have to say that it annoyed me. Still I liked your P.S :D. To Jack, when I said I would re-write the chapters, I didn't mean I was going to change any of the events, I am merely going to fix up any grammatical errors I find and add more description. To patleon909, yes Aria was one of the hardest parts of this story. She was just being used from the beginning by Shinji, and I myself thought it was a bit harsh, but I reminded myself that this story was never meant to be happy all throughout, my secondary genre is angst and there's a reason for it. To Xolodus I thank you for your comment, but I know my sex scenes, mainly the first ones, are pretty poor. I want to improve my writing, I know its good but it can be better, but thanks for the support :D. To Justanotherguyathiscomputer, I will review your new story when I have time, I'm sorry about giving this chapter priority but I really just wanted to write it down so forgive me . Anyway I will read and review your new story when I can.

Oh also the next chapter might take a while as my 18th birthday is coming up soon. P.S don't tell anyone I am writing this underage :D. Enjoy the chapter.

Some notes:

Ja wohl mein fuhrer : Yes my leader. However fuhrer was the term given to Hitler during the Nazi regime and in the context this line is used it is referring to that.

* * *

Chapter 18: The Last Resort

_Shinji broke free of Unit 00's grip and ran towards Aria. Unit 00 decided to go after Asuka instead and charged at her. Being taken totally by surprise, Asuka did not react in time and was knocked over by Unit 00. Unit 00 pinned Asuka to the floor. The angel's A.T Field was neutralised and Shinji grabbed Aria unhindered, his face a mixture of anger and sadness._

_Shinji looked at her and said two words, "Why Aria?"_

"_Because you're such a loser, what made you think that I would have ever liked you for even one second? I was just using you, because it was fun. But you had been using me too so we're even anyway" Aria replied cruelly. _

"_What about all those things you said?"_

"_All lies obviously, but regardless I'm an angel so just kill me already, you are so pathetic I can't be bothered killing you. You humans will destroy each other anyway and that is far more fitting and enjoyable," Aria said smiling evilly._

"_How can you say that Aria? Did what we shared mean nothing to you?"_

"_Because I hate you, and to hate is to make sure that person suffers the most pain possible, physical pain is nowhere near as painful as emotional pain. Hate never has a happy ending, that's why I like it," she said laughing._

"_Aria please-" he said._

"_Just kill me! I'm sick of listening to your whining already!" she shouted at him angrily._

_Shinji looked at the small girl laughing maniacally and didn't move in hesitation. _

"_Thank you Shinji, watching you suffer made my day"_

_Then Aria's face changed into Asuka's._

"_What are you waiting for third child? You're such a coward, as always, you never have the courage to do anything. You wanted to rape me so desperately. I saw it in your eyes. Well go on, just fuck me and get it over with or do you lack the courage to do so?"_

"_No…NO…NO!"_

"_Just do it, I know you want to. Hell you know you'll get away with it so what's stopping you?"_

"_I love you"_

"_You love me? That is the worst joke I've ever heard!"_

_Her face changed back to Aria's._

"_Just kill me!"_

_Her face changed back to Asuka's._

"_Just rape me!"_

"_Just kill me!"_

"_Just rape me!"_

_Shinji smashed his fist into his own chest and ripped his heart out and screamed…_

Shinji awoke screaming at the top of his lungs. The young boy was covered with sweat, his face set into a look of horror. Adrenalin pumped through all his veins and his heart was beating fast. He shook nervously, the nightmare he had just experienced felt very real and it took a while for his mind to register the fact that it had all been a dream. Suddenly he felt a cool hand caress his face, giving a calming effect on the tormented boy. Shinji finally relaxed, and slowed down his breathing.

"Are you alright Shinji?" asked Rei concerned.

"I'm fine," he said weakly.

"You look unwell Shinji, are you ill? Why did you scream, are you in pain?"

"I'm perfectly healthy, well physically anyway. I just had a nightmare Rei that's all and if you don't mind I really don't want to talk about it"

"I see…" she said a little hurt.

Shinji sighed. "Look Rei I understand your concern, but it's alright" he said attempting a smile but failing.

The blue haired girl wrapped her arms around the boy.

"Very well Shinji. Despite your earlier behaviour you look calmer today"

"Trust me Rei, I'm not calm at all. Yesterday I had to kill one of my best friends and Asuka…well you know her"

Rei nodded in understanding.

"I don't really know what to do, but I know that I have to face her, despite how difficult and painful it will be. And so I must appear calm to confront her or I will most definitely fail"

"You are welcome to stay at my residence today if you do not feel ready"

"Thanks for the offer, but I can't run away, not this time. It has to be now, while she is vulnerable, I have to face the storm…" he said moving out of Rei's embrace.

Shinji stood up, his face uneasy. He knew he was almost certainly doomed to fail, but he had to at least try, not just for him but also for her.

_"One last piece of advice pilot Ikari…do not give up hope…"_

Rei stood up, turned her back to him and leant against him, holding his hands in hers. Shinji looked up, fear biting at him. However he moved on, letting go of Rei's hands and exiting her room. Whatever dismal amount of strength and courage he had left, kept him from running back in. Rei kept her back turned to him as the young boy steadied his beating heart and walked down the stairs. As Shinji went down the stairs he heard Rei's door close. He made it down all the way and exited the building.

The young boy felt the rush of cool morning air in his face as he exited the building. Shinji momentarily wondered how Rei had known about the angel yesterday but shrugged it off. He turned his head in the direction of their apartment and took a step. As he walked many thoughts raged in his head, some trying to convince him to run and some, a very small amount, to keep going. His confrontation with Asuka yesterday had left him feeling many things. One of the most strongest being anger, he had really wanted to kill her yesterday as he had done to Aria. However as much he had wanted to hurt her or force her to be his he just couldn't do it; he loved her.

And so Shinji continued to walk on to his apartment where he would confront Souyru Asuka Langley.

* * *

The redhead woke up; fortunately she had had a dreamless sleep and was able to finally relieve her drowsiness. She felt a lot better than she had yesterday. Asuka sat up on her bed, finally remembering how she had fallen asleep. She had started crying and fallen onto her bed, crying herself to sleep. The young girl couldn't believe she had cried over Shinji, she had promised herself she would never cry again, what made him so special?

_"I love you Asuka"_

She had heard that line from so many boys, especially in all the love letters she had received at school. But what made it different when Shinji said it? 'He actually meant it, I can tell when he's lying and that's what surprises me the most; he wasn't lying. How does he get under my skin? Why did it hurt so much to leave him yesterday? Could I possibly have feelings for the third child? But that's just not possible, yet it's the only explanation. Regardless if my pathetic heart has opened up to him, I don't need anyone. I will shove him away like all other times and I'll be strong like I always am, be independent like I always am, be superior like I always am and be…miserable like I always am…'

Asuka got off her bed and stretched her arms. She walked to her door and exited her room. Noticing the apartment was extremely quiet she moved to Shinji's room and wrenched his door open. She was a little surprised when she noticed he wasn't there but then soon remembered she had come home without Shinji because she didn't want to see him. Perhaps he found Misato missing and just decided to go to one of his friend's houses. The young girl stood there for a while in his doorway just staring at his bed.

"He's not there"

"I can see that," replied Asuka angrily.

"Then stop standing there already"

The redhead turned around to see Misato looking at her slightly annoyed. 'That's why it was so quiet, Misato wasn't snoring' Asuka thought. Seeing the Major had the young girl's attention Misato spoke up.

"Now Miss Souyru, you're sitting down at the table with me and you're going to tell me what happened yesterday"

"And if I don't want to?" Asuka replied.

"You have no choice," said Misato.

"I don't care! I won't do it!"

Misato just grabbed the redhead's wrist and pulled the stubborn girl along. Asuka screamed and shouted but Misato ignored it and sat her down at the dining table. The Major had been sick of Asuka getting her way all the time, she had no idea what had happened with Shinji, but she knew Asuka was related. If she asked Shinji, she knew he would never say anything against Asuka, she needed to hear what happened from Asuka herself. The redhead was glaring at Misato menacingly.

"I have been away since Wednesday and haven't been monitoring you two. First off you will tell me what happened when I was gone"

"Nothing happened" Asuka replied defiantly.

"Don't give me that crap, both of your sync ratios were abysmal. I'll ask again, what happened when I was gone?"

"Shinji hooked up with some girl at school alright? I hated this girl. She pissed me off to no end. Yesterday Shinji and me had a fight because he left me alone at home bored off my ass, just to go to his girlfriend's house"

"That's all? You both had such low sync ratios because of that?"

"Well as if I know what Shinji was thinking, but I was sure as hell pissed. Definitely ruined my already crap day"

"And what happened with the angel?" asked Misato continuing on.

"Well guess what, Shinji's girlfriend was the angel. Yeah I told him she was strange, but he didn't listen. He killed her…" the redhead paused remembering how much she wanted Aria dead, thinking it would solve all her problems. But it had only made her feel worse, "…and then he passed out so I carried that moron back up with me. Then he told me he loved me and I told him to rack off! Understood Major Katsuragi?"

"He told you he loved you?" Misato asked a little surprised.

"Yes that baka actually said that"

"Why did you shove him away? Didn't he go through enough already?"

"Because Shinji is just a pathetic little boy, why would I want to be with him? Furthermore he was going out with that slut, which proves he wasn't in love with me. Besides I don't need anyone and I was making my point!"

"Regardless of whether he went out with that girl or not, he does love you"

"Even if he did, what difference does it make?"

"It makes all the difference, he is a person that will understand you better than anyone else because he lives with you and pilots an eva like you. Asuka you can't do this, you have to let go of the past. I'll tell you right now you cannot callous the soul, it always hurts the same if not more the next time. You must get past your fear of pain and abandonment, running away does not solve anything. Pain is only bearable if we know it will end, not if we deny it exists. Running away is the same as denying it exists, the only way you can bear the pain is to have happiness to pull you through. Being alone does not bring you happiness!"

"You don't know anything Misato!"

"As a matter of fact I do. First of all don't forget I know about your past and secondly I now have Kaji"

"But you tried to kill him!"

"Yes I was ordered to kill him but you know what? You don't know how much you want something till it's gone. Don't make the same mistake as me; I was lucky that he survived"

"NO! THAT DICKHEAD WILL JUST LEAVE ME LIKE ALL THE OTHERS!" she shouted.

"I never left you Asuka and as far as I can see neither has he," said Misato calmly.

_"…Even after all that crap you put me through, despite how you cold-heartedly wanted me to kill Aria and the fact that you've rejected me and told me we will never be together millions of times I…still do"_

Asuka desperately fought the urge to cry, she would _not_ cry over him again. The redhead stood up abruptly sending her chair flying backwards.

"But it doesn't matter because I DO NOT love him!" she shouted at Misato.

"It is not for me to say whether you love him or not, it is something you must find out and realise by yourself"

"This conversation is over!" said Asuka going off to her room and slamming the door.

The sound seemed to echo through the apartment as a stunned Misato was left sitting at the dining table. The Major just sat there wondering if she had done the right thing. But then she thought it must be so hard on Shinji. Whatever his reasons for dating that girl, it couldn't be because he loved her, that much she knew. But having to kill his girlfriend then having been rejected by Asuka after admitting his feelings to her must be having a heavy toll on him. Shinji had done all the initiative so far and Asuka just required a little push, well maybe a massive push, but a push nonetheless.

Though she did wonder where Shinji was at the moment, when he came back he would also have some explaining to do. The Major stood up from her chair and walked into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and took out a beer. Opening the can she drained its contents in one gulp. Now that she felt better she went back to the dining table only to hear the front door open. Misato turned her head to see Shinji walking into their residence.

"I'm home" Shinji called out.

Misato walked over to where Shinji was. Shinji looked at her curiously.

"You're sitting down at the table with me" she said firmly, turning around and walking off to the dining room.

"Ok, but why?" he asked following her.

"We're going to have a talk" she simply replied.

Shinji stayed silent as they sat down at the dining table. Misato gave him a solemn look before starting the conversation.

"Now the past few days I've been away I know something had happened to you two because of your low sync scores before battling the angel. I've already asked Asuka about it and she said you started to date a girl. Is this true?"

"Yeah" he admitted.

"Why in the world did you start dating another girl? I thought you loved Asuka," she said a little loudly.

"Of course I love Asuka, I was dating another girl as part of a plan to make Asuka jealous. It failed horribly, but I shouldn't have done it in the first place"

Misato chuckled slightly. "You were trying to get Asuka jealous? Who gave you that idea? Kaji?"

"No, it was my father"

"You mean last week when he requested to talk to you, that's what he said to you?"

"Yeah"

"Well that explains everything actually, that's why you were so down yesterday, Asuka told me about the fight you see. Anyway did you tell Asuka why you were dating the other girl?"

"She didn't give me the chance. Speaking of which where is she now?"

"She's in her room at the moment, after our discussion she left in a fit of rage"

"What did you say?" asked Shinji sweat dropping.

"Hey! Don't try to blame it on me! She's just being her typical angry self"

"I barely lack the courage to confront her as it is, she really hurt me yesterday and to see all the effort I had gone through just to have a chance at being with her to be in vain was aggravating. I was only able to get out of my depression because Rei comforted me a little, but even now I'm only just managing not to lose myself"

"You were at Rei's last night?" she asked.

"Yeah"

Misato tried to give him a cheery expression; he needed all the support he could get. "Well good luck, you'll need it"

Shinji just nodded and moved in the direction of Asuka's room. 'How does he get back up after everything, no matter what hits him? How does he act so calm when he's hurting so much inside? I hope you'll be okay Shinji' Misato thought.

The young boy just stared at her door. Minutes passed by, but it felt like hours. There were so many things he wanted to do, run away, barge through the door or just simply wait and stare. Eventually he reached up and knocked on her door.

"Go away!" was the immediate response.

Deciding that knocking or requesting permission to enter wouldn't work, Shinji just opened the door and rushed into her room.

"Oh my god Asuka, I heard a star fell from the sky and landed in this room! Wow I didn't know it was so pretty"

Asuka fought the urge to smile and stood up, slapping the male eva pilot on the face.

"You come into my room to say something so stupid? You think I would fall for such a lame line?"

"No I was just trying to get your attention, I guess I succeeded," he said attempting to smile.

"Well then what do you want? You want to waste more of my time with your pathetic presence?"

"No I wanted to talk to you"

"I already talked with Misato enough about you"

"You did?"

"Yeah she thought it was cruel of me to just shove you away like I did yesterday, especially after what you went through"

"Did you think it was cruel?"

"No of course not! I was telling you straight off so that you would abandon any hope, I think that's less cruel than leaving you hope so you would be disappointed later"

"So you were thinking of me?"

"No I just didn't want you stalking me or anything!"

"Err Asuka I happen to live with you…"

"I know! What the hell are you so calm about anyway? I thought you'd be in depressed Shinji mode, crying and apologizing over everything"

"I guess you have rubbed off on me"

"Shinji what are you really here for?" she asked seriously.

"I want you to know why I was dating Aria"

"…"

"You see the only reason I dated Aria was because I was trying to make you jealous, that's the truth"

"_No, it's not true, it was _I_ who became her boyfriend to use her…"_

Asuka was a little surprised at his admission, but it made complete sense and explained his actions the past few days entirely. What she had been clinging onto for all this time as to why he couldn't love her was one of the strongest reasons to support the fact that he did love her. The redhead was losing excuses.

"Well I did become a _little_ jealous of your attention, you almost completely ignored me after all. But I hate being ignored is all, it doesn't mean anything else at all"

"Why did you want me to stay then?"

"I was bored"

"Why did you kiss me then?"

"I was bored, just like the last time I kissed you, excluding play practice, I was bored then too"

"Why were you so angry when you thought I loved Aria?"

"I was annoyed that you thought her more important than me"

"Since when have you cared about what people think about you? Why were you really angry?"

Asuka stayed silent.

"Were you angry because you thought I had chosen her over you?"

"Definitely not!"

"Then why?"

"I just…I don't know"

"I can show you why"

"How-" she said being cut off by Shinji's lips on hers.

The young boy pushed her down onto the bed, moving on top of her and increasing his assault on her quivering lips. The young girl struggled slightly against him but soon gave in. Shinji parted from her lips, but moved his mouth down to her neck where he started to nuzzle her. Asuka let out a moan as she felt his warm mouth on her neck. She tried to push him off of her but found herself clutching onto him instead. The young girl felt something pressing against her thigh and realised he was aroused, as was she. Shinji moved his hand down to her chest and Asuka gasped as she felt him fondle her breast.

"Shinji…stop!" she shouted.

Immediately the young boy halted his actions and looked at her questioningly.

"Look this can't happen Shinji, I don't know why you can kiss so well, but it doesn't matter. I don't love you and we can't be together. I'll let this go but just leave me alone, give it up already"

Shinji's suppressed emotions were coming back again and he desperately fought to keep himself under control.

"But Asuka, I love you, surely you must feel something at least close to that!"

"Can I make it _any _clearer?" she said shoving him off of her. "Read my lips Shinji, I-do-not-love-you, I-do-not-want-to-be-to-ge-ther. I don't need anyone alright? Just get over it already, you set your sights a little high, why would the Great Souyru Asuka Langley want to be with a pathetic boy like you?" she said venomously.

"You are not perfect yourself Asuka! Stop placing yourself in such high regard, stop making it seem like it's such a great deal on your part to be with me. Why are you so stubborn? Why are you so afraid of love? Why don't your realise your own feelings? Why can't you just give me a chance?" he said his anger starting to take over him.

"Why are you so deaf? I already told you I don't need anyone! Is it _so_ hard to understand?"

_"Just rape me!"_

"_Just kill me!"_

Shinji glared at Asuka menacingly, and she was truly frightened for a moment. But he jumped off of her and picked up her chair, throwing it against the wall as hard as he could, breaking it instantly. He turned to face her with a look of disgust.

"Fine, be a miserable little bitch the rest of your life. I shouldn't have expected more from a fucken Nazi!"

He knew he hit low, but he was just so pissed.

"What did you call me?" Asuka said suddenly enraged.

"A NAZI!" he shouted louder.

The redhead snapped and launched herself at the young boy. She threw punch after punch at the boy, while he attempted to defend himself. Many of her blows connected and the boy howled in pain. Shinji retaliated by kicking her in the shins, making Asuka cry out in pain as she collapsed. He picked her up and was about to throw her, when two arms grabbed him from behind.

"Shinji no!" shouted Misato.

Shinji reluctantly let down the female eva pilot.

"I could hear the shouting and screaming, but I didn't want to interrupt your argument. However I will not allow you two to kill each other, no matter how angry you are. Both of you calm down" Misato said looking at her two wards sternly.

"Stay away from me Shinji. I don't ever want to see you again," Asuka said furiously.

"Ja wohl mein fuhrer!" he said bowing mockingly, "if that's how you want it. I'll be gone from your life for good!" shouted Shinji.

"Fine with me!" shouted Asuka back.

The young boy left the room quickly.

"Shinji wait!" called out Misato. But her response was the slamming of the front door.

"I hope you're happy," said Misato turning to Asuka.

"What the hell do you care? You just want Shinji to be happy"

"I want you both to be happy, you benefit from it as much as he would Asuka!"

"Aren't you supposed to be against this?" asked Asuka annoyed.

"First of all I couldn't care less if Nerv didn't approve of a relationship between pilots if it made you two finally get along. Secondly all the angels are dead now anyway"

"But you said Seele will probably attack us, so we're still needed"

"Well it would actually help your sync ratio, and therefore improve your fighting capability"

"So you just wanted us together so we could fight better?"

"No that's not what I meant and you know it"

"We had this conversation before Misato. I already told you _and_ him its not going to happen"

"Are you just being stubborn or are you afraid?"

"I am not afraid of anything! I just don't want to be with him, it's as simple as that"

"If you can honestly tell me right here, right now that you don't care about Shinji at all, that you have no feelings whatsoever towards him, I will never speak of this again. So do you feel anything for him, yes or no? I won't ask for an explanation, a justification or anything just a simple yes or no"

Asuka stayed silent unable to say anything. She could just say no and get Misato off her back, but she knew she'd be lying if she said that. The redhead threw her hands up in frustration.

"Yes alright, happy?" she said irritated, as if admitting it had caused extreme pain.

"Well then I suggest you probably go after him before he does something he'll regret"

"Why do I have to?" she asked whining.

"Because he loves you"

Asuka gritted her teeth and shouted out in annoyance. 'Why does this baka always cause me so many damn problems?' she thought.

"Fine, I'll go get that moron"

Asuka went off to her room to see if she needed anything before she went off. The young girl noticed the ring on her bed where she had left it. Sighing she picked it up and placed it in her pocket, thinking that perhaps returning this object would convince the boy to let her go. She looked around and with nothing else coming to mind she exited her room and headed towards their front door.

"Go bring back our love-sick boy," said Misato cheerily.

The redhead just muttered something unintelligible as she walked out the front door, closing it behind her. She ran down the stairs and began her search for the object of the most frustration in her life.

* * *

Shinji was walking along a deserted alleyway when he took out his cell phone. He had bought it when he was out on one of his dates with Aria; in fact she had even helped him choose it. The young boy forced himself to stay calm as his emotions threatened to overwhelm him again. He was still traumatized by Aria's death and had only barely just managed to keep himself from going insane. But now that Asuka had truly rejected him he just didn't think he had the strength to go on anymore. He decided with all that had happened there was only one thing left to do. He dialed in a number, hit the call button and then held it to his ear waiting for the person to pick up. After a while the person picked up and answered.

"Hello this is Ryouji Kaji speaking"

"Yes hello Kaji this is Shinji, I would like to tell you something before I go"

"What do you mean?" Kaji asked confused.

"It's about Asuka…"

* * *

The redhead was walking around Tokyo-3 wondering where he could have possibly gone. Thinking that he might be trying to leave the city she first went to the train station, but when she arrived she saw a demolished building and then remembered all public transport systems had been destroyed. Asuka then decided to go check on his friend's houses. She went to Kensuke's house first as it was closer. She went up to his door and rang the doorbell. Soon the military otaku opened the door and was a little surprised at finding the redhead there.

"Is Shinji there?" she asked getting straight to the point.

"No he's not here? Why, is he lost again?"

"Something like that"

As Asuka turned around, Kensuke decided to say something.

"Asuka, Shinji's a loyal guy at heart just remember that"

She just continued walking away, pretending she had heard nothing. Though deep down the words impacted on her greatly. It was true; she had been proven time and time again that he always stuck with her. The young girl dismissed her thoughts and continued onto the next destination, Toji's house. It was not long before Asuka had arrived at the jock's residence. She approached Toji's house and rang on his doorbell, completely oblivious to what was happening at the moment. Asuka was a little surprised to see not Toji, but Hikari open the door.

"Asuka?"

"Hikari?"

"Toji invited me over today, but why are you here Asuka?" Hikari asked.

"I'm looking for Shinji, is he there?"

"No, Shinji didn't come here. By the way Asuka you look down today, is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, thanks for the help Hikari, I'll be going now," said Asuka walking away and waving to her friend. Hikari looked a little bewildered at the short meeting but returned inside Toji's house.

As Asuka walked away she really began to wonder where he was. 'Does he know anyone else? Does he have any other friends? Aria's dead, so it can't be her place. Wait of course, Wondergirl!'

Asuka moved off in the direction of Rei's apartment.

* * *

The frantic man quickly dialed in the Major's number, praying to god he wouldn't be too late. He had just called the commander of Nerv and informed him of the situation. He had simply replied 'do whatever is necessary.' Thankfully Misato picked up and answered the call.

"This is Misato speaking," said Misato on her home phone.

"Hi Misato its Kaji, Shinji just called me and told me something disturbing. He said he was going to the convenience store near Rei's apartment to 'end it all.' He then said goodbye and hoped I wouldn't miss him. Normally I wouldn't think much of it, I would have thought he was going to run away, but he told me what happened and for him to call me and after all he's gone through, I'm afraid he might try to do something more than just run away. Please Misato drive there now and stop him, take Asuka with you as well!"

Misato's eyes went wide as she dropped the phone. 'No it can't be, he wouldn't, not after all he did.' She got up quickly and grabbed her keys, sprinting out her apartment at full speed and to her car. 'Dammit Asuka, where the hell are you? You're the only one who can stop him.' She silently prayed that sending Asuka out was a good idea as she might find him.

The Major turned the ignition and slammed down on the accelerator trying as fast as she could to get to the young boy.

* * *

The young girl looked up at the building, it seemed familiar. As she entered the building she realised she had been here before. 'That's right, that dream I had before, it was a memory. I was searching for Shinji here before, I wonder why?'

Asuka walked up the stairs and arrived at Rei's door. Opening the door she found Rei sitting on her bed looking out the window. As Asuka entered Rei turned her head towards the redhead and cocked her head curiously.

"Hi Wonder-I mean Rei" she said remembering Shinji's favour.

"Greetings Pilot Souyru, what business brings you here?"

"I was looking for Shinji, though I can see he's not here"

"He was here, he stayed the night, unable to confront you till today. I remember he left this morning quite distressed, he was going to try and speak with you"

"Yeah he came, I told him to go away and now I have to look for the baka"

"Why did you tell him to go if you were only going to have to search for him?" asked Rei confused.

"I didn't want to search for him! But that's besides the point, did anything happen here last night?"

"I do not understand what you mean, he merely fell asleep on the couch almost as soon as we arrived"

"Would you have any idea where Shinji is now?"

"I am unaware of the third child's current location" said Rei.

"One last question Rei, Shinji was here before and I came here searching for him, do you remember why?"

"Upon learning about my true origin he came to confront me and has since considered me as a sister. You came searching for him because he stayed the night then as well and I disallowed him to leave on account of it being too late"

"_I most definitely do _not_ like Rei in that way nor do I wish to sleep with her"_

'I understand what he meant now, guess he was after me all along' Asuka thought.

"Ok Rei I guess I'll keep looking for him then" she said turning around.

"Pilot Souyru do not forget…you are the only one who can make Shinji happy"

Asuka continued out of Rei's room, down the stairs and outside the building. The redhead had a strange feeling; it was like everyone knew about Shinji and her. But when she had thought about it, Shinji admitted his love in the battle of the 15th angel so she presumed Misato and Rei had known all along. 'As a matter of fact the whole of Nerv would have known! That's explains everyone's behaviour when I woke up in the hospital! I must have rejected him or something and he saw my memory loss as another chance to get with me'

However her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car zooming down the street. She then heard a massive screech as the car stopped and reversed back to where she was.

"Asuka GET YOUR ASS IN HERE NOW!" screamed Misato, honking at the redhead.

Puzzled the female eva pilot ran down to the car and sat in the front. As soon as she had her seatbelt on, Misato once again shot off down the street.

"Misato, what in the world is going on?"

"Its Shinji, he gave a call to Kaji and he thinks he's going to try to…" she said trailing off.

"Try to what?"

"Try to take his life," said Misato quietly.

_"…if that's how you want it. I'll be gone from your life for good!"_

The true impact of his words finally dawned on her. Asuka suddenly felt very weak, 'No that can't be, he can't leave me…what have I done?' The redhead willed herself to hold together as they sped down the road. However Misato stopped the car very soon at a store and got out of the car. Asuka quickly followed and heard some voices speaking in a nearby alley.

"…you know what I'll even shoot you myself, therefore you don't have to worry about chickening out"

"Thank you"

The two girls ran over to the alley as fast as they could and let out a gasp at the sight they saw.

* * *

The young boy entered the store, taking in its features. There was nothing particularly special about this store it was quite ordinary. In fact the young boy couldn't even remember much of the details of the shop. But this was where he had met her for the first time, Aria. She had been up at the counter when he had turned her around thinking it was Asuka. Yes a fitting place this was for the moment that was about to happen. Yes the place where he had first met the only girl, it seemed, to have truly loved him.

Shinji looked at the clock in the store and thought it was about time to start. He exited the store and walked over to the nearby alley. The young boy made sure no one could see him and then took out a handgun from his pocket. He aimed it at his head and slowly pulled the trigger. He opened his eyes, having shut them and wondered what happened, he was sure it was loaded.

"You foolish kid" said a man in a balaclava approaching him, "you're so pathetic you don't even know how to kill yourself"

The man took the gun off Shinji, stood back and aimed it at his chest. Shinji looked at him surprised. Suddenly a car screeching to a halt was heard.

"Well its your lucky day, I'll help you out, you see you forgot to put the safety off. Hey you know what I'll even shoot you myself, therefore you don't have to worry about chickening out" said the man clicking off the safety.

"Thank you" Shinji said calmly.

The young boy heard a gasp and turned his head around.

"Shinji! Don't do it!" shouted out a frantic Misato.

"Misato?" said Shinji.

The gun was fired and Shinji's chest exploded with blood, making him fall to the floor. The gunshot rang out loudly and the two girls stood there stunned as the man ran off, leaving the boy there. Misato and Asuka broke out of their momentary daze and took in the sight of Shinji on the ground with blood all over him. The redhead ran over to him in disbelief while Misato just collapsed to the floor crying. Very few people were in this area at the moment, some stopped to look at the commotion, no one had cell phones to call the ambulance or police, the store's phone itself was broken too, so people watched on as the boy lay there helplessly.

"Shinji?" asked Asuka croaking.

Shinji coughed and blood came out of his mouth. "Asuka? You came Asuka. I'm sorry it had to be this way, but now I will never bother you again. You know that store was where I first met Aria, a fitting place this is to die"

"YOU BAKA! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? I NEVER WANTED YOU TO DIE!" she said as tears started to fall from her face.

"Ich Liebe Dich Asuka" he said weakly. The young boy then started choking, his eyes rolling up in his head.

'Why am I crying? Do I like him? After all this time, I like him? But how is that possible, he's just a pathetic cowardly baka is all'

_"His kindness and politeness is fake, he uses it so that people will like him or at least not hate him! Plus he fluctuates between being strong and weak and being brave and cowardly so much I can't tell anymore"_

'Why does it hurt so much then?'

_"Look everyone has their faults. But the whole point of liking someone is to see past the bad aspects of the person and focus on the good aspects. It's about accepting him for who he is, no one in this world is perfect, so why expect him to be,"_

'But still, I'm the Great Asuka he doesn't deserve to be with me!'

_"You are not perfect yourself Asuka! Stop placing yourself in such high regard, stop making it seem like it's such a great deal on your part to be with me…"_

'But does he really love me?'

_"Surprising isn't it? Even after all that crap you put me through, despite how you cold-heartedly wanted me to kill Aria and the fact that you've rejected me and told me we will never be together millions of times I…still do"_

_"You see the only reason I dated Aria was because I was trying to make you jealous, that's the truth"_

'How could he fall for someone like me?'

_"Because Asuka is more than just a pretty girl, she has a hundred times more depth and intelligence. She taught me how to be stronger and how to persevere, she is irreplaceable"_

_"Pilot Souyru do not forget…you are the only one who can make Shinji happy"_

'Even if he does love me, what does it matter?'

_"…he is a person that will understand you better than anyone else because he lives with you and pilots an eva like you…"_

'So what if he's good for me, he'll just end up leaving me like everyone always does'

_"Asuka, Shinji's a loyal guy at heart just remember that"_

_"…You can't keep pushing everyone away just because you think anyone who you open your heart to will betray you"_

_"…You must get past your fear of pain and abandonment, running away does not solve anything…"_

'But no matter how much he loves me, he'll still end up hurting me, even if unintentionally'

_"…You cannot callous the soul, it always hurts the same if not more the next time…"_

_"…Pain is only bearable if we know it will end, not if we deny it exists. Running away is the same as denying it exists, the only way you can bear the pain is to have happiness to pull you through…"_

'I can be happy alone, I don't need anyone!'

_"…Being alone does not bring you happiness!"_

_"But now I realise being all alone you sacrifice your happiness…"_

'Do I really need him? Do I really…love him?'

_"It is not for me to say whether you love him or not, it is something you must find out and realise by yourself"_

'Could I really love that baka?'

_"…to love is not loving someone perfect, but loving someone imperfect, perfectly…"_

'No I can't love him!'

_"Are you just being stubborn or are you afraid?"_

'Even if I love him, it doesn't matter anymore he's dying. He left me because he couldn't bear me'

_"Love is always a complicated thing Asuka, it brings pain and happiness at the same time. It can make you do things you'd never think you'd ever do"_

'Oh you stupid baka! This is not what I wanted. But I know it's my fault. Why? Why couldn't I see this before?'

_"…You don't know how much you want something till it's gone…"_

The tears poured down her cheek freely, she had been denying her true feelings about the third child the whole time, and in the end she only realised when he was about to die, she was truly pathetic.

"No Shinji, don't leave me! I don't want to be alone anymore, I want someone, I need someone, I need you. I need you by my side, so please Shinji you can't leave me now… you just can't…please…" she shouted to the boy.

But the brown haired boy didn't respond…

* * *

End Notes: I just know I will receive one million flames for the end of this chapter, but first of all I can't change my storyline no matter how much I want to please my readers. And please, my loyal readers just stick with me at least until the next chapter please.

If you don't understand what I mean by the line 'you cannot callous the soul' I'll explain it. You see when you play a guitar for example, you have to hold down the strings with your fingers to play. However at first it is quite painful, however the more you play the more your fingers develop a layer of skin called a callous. This callous prevents any pain while playing the guitar. So in fact what Misato is saying is 'no matter what you do it'll always hurt.' I hope I explained that right.

The whole kissing scene with Shinji and Asuka was to show that Asuka has gotten past some of her barriers and sees Shinji as physically attractive.

About Shinji speaking German, he has been living with Asuka for a while and I also presume he has done world war II history.

Yes also about Shinji's actions he is extremely depressed and traumatized from the previous events. He loves Asuka and so instead of taking out his anger on her he does the only thing he can do.

The last scene was extremely difficult to write, but I knew I had to do it. I was wondering how I could possibly make Asuka convince herself she had feelings for Shinji and of course there were so many lines from throughout my story. I went as far back as the 12th chapter I think. I mean there are links to the 5th chapter in this chapter too, which just shows how many things interconnect. But anyway I also had to do this the next day as Asuka's emotions were at her peak, from first being jealous of Aria the past couple of days, having witnessed her die and played a part in it as well and then have Shinji admit his love, all the emotions weigh down on her and she is finally able to realise her feelings, but it still took a lot of convincing yikes she is a difficult girl. Anyways I had read so many fanfiction that made Asuka realise she loves Shinji after he uses jealousy and I always thought it wasn't sufficient to make Asuka crack like that, so I went one step further.


	19. At Last

Author's Notes: Chapter 19 done, I had a few interruptions, which prevented me from updating earlier, but here it is. I was expecting many flames for the chapter but I received mainly praises, which was unexpected, everyone wants Shinji to die?

To DinkySG I actually didn't know that you couldn't pull the trigger when safety was on, I thought it just didn't fire. Also to you and everyone else who's curious about the man shooting Shinji it will be explained in this chapter. To Jack, just rofl. Thank you Intansha for your praise, the last chapter was very hard to write because of what I was trying to portray, it wasn't done properly and I know that, but at least you still liked it. Thank you Xolodus for your support as always, sticking with me to the end no matter what that does make me happy. To Darknemo, yes when I posted this chapter I knew straight away that I would receive a review like that. First off the chapter was a little rushed, secondly this chapter was written differently to how I usually write. I wrote the beginning and the end before writing the middle instead of going from A to B like I usually do. I'm afraid this has caused me to lose description, as I didn't notice. But there were a few other factors that caused difficulties in writing the last chapter, one of the main being I didn't know how to write what I wanted to write. Your suggestion about Asuka makes sense, I hadn't actually thought of that, I might put it in later as that chapter probably needs a re-work. Now about Shinji behaving 'emo' as you said. Well this is intended, as you will soon find out. To all my readers there were many discrepancies in the end of the last chapter, I'm impressed to see you notice some of them, however believe me when I say that after reading this chapter the previous chapter will make much more sense. To patleon909, you were reading my story in your computer class lol? To sephiroth2004 I really don't know if your comment is a compliment or not.

Enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 19: At Last

The scene looked tragic, a boy covered in blood on the ground being held by a crying redhead in an alleyway. The Nerv Tactical Operations Director was also on the floor crying, a little back from where the two eva pilots were. A few bystanders were watching in horror, as they could do nothing to help. It was in the afternoon and the sun still beat down on the group mercilessly. 'Damn Nerv, why were there no Section 2 agents here to stop him? Wait a second, I didn't even see someone go chase after the man who shot Shinji this doesn't make sense…'

The Major got up, sensing something completely wrong with what had happened. The man with the balaclava returned from his hiding spot and took off his balaclava revealing the face of Kaji.

"Kaji?!" shouted Misato in shock.

"Operation 'Asuka confesses' successfully completed Shinji"

Shinji sat up and spat two tablets out of his mouth.

"Urghh, I can't believe you told me to bite down as hard as I could on those stupid pastels, I almost choked on that crap" said Shinji.

Asuka looked up wide-eyed, unable to believe what was going on.

"Well it gave more of an effect, hell I thought you were dead for a second" replied Kaji.

Misato started to glare at her lover menacingly and Kaji cringed in fear.

"Alright Section 2, you can stop playing innocent bystanders" called out Kaji.

All the people who were pretending to be bystanders walked off and everything resumed as if nothing had happened.

"You died Shinji I saw you get shot. What's going on?" asked Asuka weakly.

Shinji just smiled sheepishly at her and pulled open his shirt revealing an exploded sachet still oozing with fake blood. He then pulled a remote out of his pocket and held it up for Asuka to see.

"This packet is set to explode with the press of a button on this remote. Kaji fired a blank at me and I timed the explosion with the gunshot giving the illusion of me being shot. It still hurt a bit though," said Shinji.

"We need to talk," said Misato icily to Kaji.

"Of course Katsuragi" he said sweatdropping.

The two adults walked off out of sight leaving the two eva pilots alone. Asuka had an angry look on her face; she looked just about ready to blow up.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO ME YOU FUCKING MORON?! I THOUGHT YOU DIED YOU STUPID PIECE OF SHIT!" Asuka shouted slapping him on the face as hard as she could.

In the background another voice could be heard shouting and Shinji silently prayed that Kaji wouldn't get severely injured.

"I know Asuka, I know, I really didn't want to resort to this, but you left me no choice"

"_No Shinji, don't leave me! I don't want to be alone anymore, I want someone, I need someone, I need you. I need you by my side, so please Shinji you can't leave me now… you just can't…please…"_

The redhead remembered her admission, she couldn't take back what she had said and it was true anyway. "I thought you were dead Shinji, don't EVER scare me like that again," she said tears strolling down her face. She quickly wiped her tears not wanting to show him any weakness.

"I swear I will never scare you like this again Asuka, I just didn't know how else to get you to realise your feelings for me. I promise I will never leave you again"

"You are such a dickhead Ikari! To think I was actually regretting what I did earlier. How the hell did you get Kaji in on this as well? How the in the world did you set this up?"

"Do you recall a while ago me and Kaji having a talk? He gave me this suggestion because he really wanted to see you happy Asuka. He said faking my death was probably the only thing that would work. However I said to only use this as a last resort, when I had no other way. He called the commander today and he arranged for this part of the city to be cleared of people so no one would witness it. Then he got the section 2 agents watching us to play as innocent bystanders so you wouldn't suspect anything"

"I feel like killing you right now third child! What's to stop me from murdering you right here, right now?"

"I love you," said Shinji cowering in fear.

But instead of the multiple blows Shinji thought he would receive, he received a passionate kiss from the redhead. Shinji was amazed at the sheer emotion behind it and after he got over the initial shock he kissed her back just as fiercely. Asuka felt the disgusting taste of the fake blood in the kiss but didn't really care. After a while the two parted and Asuka looked at him irritated.

"Love…love is such a strong word for you Shinji, I…I tolerate you" she said smirking.

The young boy grinned at her and the two teens got up off the floor. Asuka turned around to face Shinji.

"You are not getting away with this by the way, when we get home you're in for some punishment. No one makes a fool of the Great Asuka!"

"Yes Asuka" he said sighing. "Well let's go get Misato and Kaji before Misato kills him"

The redhead nodded in agreement. The two eva pilots walked hand in hand to where the two adults had walked off. There they saw Kaji cowering in fear behind a trashcan, as Misato yelled at the top of her lungs.

"You stupid idiot! Why didn't you at least tell _me_ about this?!" Misato shouted at her lover.

"It would have been too suspicious, we couldn't tell you, it most certainly would have ruined the plan"

Misato stopped as she saw the two teens looking at her with curious expressions. Misato sighed.

"You get off the hook this time, but only because it worked. If you EVER pull a stunt like this again I will personally make sure you won't be able to have children EVER AGAIN!"

"Understood Major Katsuragi," said Kaji getting up warily.

"Alright you two we're going home and Shinji, Kaji is not the only one who is in trouble. Be prepared for some disciplinary action," said Misato to the two eva pilots.

"Hai" said Shinji sweat dropping. But he didn't care it was all worth it to finally have Asuka at his side again.

"May I have a word with Shinji before he goes?" asked Kaji.

Both women eyed him suspiciously and Kaji couldn't help withering a little under their gaze. After what seemed liked years Misato finally sighed. "Alright but make it quick" the Major said.

The young boy walked over to Kaji, grateful for the temporary release from the two fuming women. The spy looked down at the young boy smiling slightly.

"I just have a question, when I got to you I saw you trying to shoot yourself. I know I was running late but I still made it before the girls did, why did you do that?"

"Well actually I was just testing it to see if it worked in case you didn't come and I had to shoot myself, I was actually a little worried when it didn't fire, I thought the whole plan was going to fail or that you had given me the wrong gun or something. What I want to know though is why you said all that crap to me, was there a point?"

"I was late and was worried Misato and Asuka had already arrived, so I had to say it or anyone listening in would be suspicious. However I heard a car screech to a halt and I knew they had arrived so I made sure to say loud and clear that I was going to shoot you"

"I guess that makes sense. Anyways it worked out good so thanks for the help," replied Shinji, he noticed the two girls were still glaring at him, "well I've _really_ got to go now so see ya," replied Shinji.

The young boy walked back to his two roommates cautiously noticing they eyed him as a hawk eyed their prey.

"You remember what I said Shinji?" asked Misato.

Shinji nodded gravely.

"Don't worry Misato, I'll be sure MY Shinji gets what he deserves," Asuka said smiling cruelly.

The two girls shared an evil grin that Shinji didn't like in the least. 'Goodbye independence, freedom and dignity' thought Shinji wearily. Kaji had mysteriously disappeared and Misato sighed in irritation. The three roommates went back to the Major's car and got in, both Shinji and Asuka in the back. Misato drove off, speeding down the road towards their apartment. Shinji edged his hand towards Asuka's, the redhead noticed his actions and rolled her eyes giving him her hand.

"For god's sake just take it already you retard," said Asuka annoyed.

Shinji couldn't help chuckling as he entwined his fingers with hers. The boy moved closer to her, he knew she was still hurting inside and would never admit how deeply the incident affected her. The redhead just gave him a curious glance as he put an arm around her and pulled her closer to him. The young boy decided to be a little bolder and moved his face to her neck where he nuzzled her softly, eliciting a pleased moan from the young girl.

"You know I'm not going to cut you any slack," Asuka said.

"I know"

"Baka"

"Your baka"

"Damn straight you're mine!"

The young girl turned her head and kissed him on the lips once again. Cheekily she held his nose and pulled his hair painfully as she deepened the kiss. Misato was watching the couple's actions in the rear view mirror with an amused expression.

"Ok you two lovebirds keep your hands off each other please!"

The two teens parted instantly, blushing.

"I am not a slut like you Misato! You keep your eyes on the road we're they're supposed to be!" shouted Asuka.

Misato slammed the brakes making the two eva pilots lurch forward.

"We're home," said Misato smiling innocently.

The pair cast a glare at Misato and got out of the car, just glad to finally be back at their apartment. The trio walked up the stairs and to their door. Misato unlocked the door and held the door open for the two teens to walk through.

"Actually its your lucky day today Shinji, I'm going to go find Kaji and kick his ass alright. But I'm sure Asuka can take care of you well enough" said Misato grinning mischievously as she closed the door leaving the two eva pilots alone in the apartment.

Shinji looked at Asuka warily, wondering what she was going to do. She took a step forward and he backed away instantly in fear. Asuka smiled at his reaction and raised her leg. Shinji just looked at her confused before getting kicked hard in the stomach. The poor boy collapsed onto the floor, utterly winded, gasping for air.

"I don't think I'll ever forgive you for doing what you did to me Shinji, but I have an idea" she said smiling smugly.

Shinji found himself unable to move as he was in immense pain and so he just looked up at the redhead expectantly.

"Your punishment, Shinji Ikari, is as follows," she said stepping her foot down on his chest, "I demand that you become my lawful and wedded husband, who will be totally obedient to me, respect me, never leave me and always be mine. Do you accept?" she said taking the ring out of her pocket and holding it out.

"Do I have a choice?" Shinji asked, which was followed by a glare so frightening the young boy instantly accepted her proposal.

The redhead looked at him expectantly for a while, however Shinji just looked up at her confused. The redhead kicked the boy in frustration.

"You baka, you're supposed to slip the ring on my finger"

"Oh" was all Shinji said as he reached up to take the ring. He slipped the ring onto the redhead's finger and Asuka smiled. "How did you get my ring anyway Asuka?" asked Shinji curious.

"Found it in your room, a curious item especially as it had an engraving on it you asked me to translate. What was it? 'Love is forever' what rubbish, it should have said 'idiocy is forever.' Honestly you couldn't go about it like a sensible person, no you had to be a total idiot"

"I'm the idiot? You are the most difficult woman I've ever met, denying and resisting any attempt I took at getting together, what the hell was I supposed to do?" he said getting up.

"Trust you not to understand women at all!"

"Trust you not to realise how impossible you are!"

"How stupid do you have to be to fake your own death just to get a girl?"

"How stupid do you have to be to have to have someone fake their own death for you to realise you like them?"

"You are just a stupid, perverted baka that's all there is to it!"

"You are just a stuck up, arrogant bitch _that's_ all there is to it!"

"_I_ am the Great Souyru Asuka Langley"

"And _I _am the Invincible Shinji Ikari"

"You can't win against me, just stop arguing already!"

Shinji was just about to retort when she forced her lips onto his, shoving him up against a wall and forcing her tongue inside his mouth. The young boy wilted under her assault and gave in to her fury. Their two tongues battled ferociously for dominance as Asuka ran her hand through Shinji's hair roughly. The young boy finally managed to free his arms from behind his back and wrapped his arms around the redhead's waist pulling her closer. Boldly Shinji moved one of his hands down and groped her ass. She responded by grabbing his hand and twisting it painfully. The boy cried out in pain, halting the passionate exchange.

"That's my injured hand!" shouted Shinji.

"Serves you right for trying to cop a feel"

"Was it so unpleasant?"

"You didn't ask my permission"

"You didn't ask my permission to kiss me either"

"That's different!"

"No you were just using a cheap method to win the argument!"

"Get used it to it you retard!"

The two looked at each other and burst out laughing. All their anger at each other had finally been released. The two teens noticed their current position and blushed slightly. Shinji still had one arm around her waist and they were so close, they were practically grinding. The young boy couldn't help but think how sexy Asuka looked. Her illustrious red hair hung loosely about her and she had a teasing smile on her. From his view his could see down her top and he liked what he saw. The young boy kissed her neck, sucking on her skin gently. He moved his mouth over her shoulders and neck planting wet kisses all over.

"I love you," he said softly.

"And so you should" she said matter-of-factly.

Shinji looked deeply into her eyes and Asuka flicked him on the forehead, giving him a puzzled look. Truth be told Asuka was uncomfortable with their new relationship, but she knew she loved him. She loved him because she trusted him and believed he would never leave her. However the young girl still couldn't help but feel a little vulnerable, after all Shinji had finally broken down all her barriers. Asuka knew that no matter what, they would experience pain caused by the other, but at the moment she felt happy, genuinely happy, for once.

"I think you should clean yourself up, the blood splattered look doesn't do anything for you" Asuka remarked.

The young girl moved off of Shinji as he looked at himself, noticing that the fake blood that had dripped down onto his chin had dried there. His shirt was soaked with crimson and his pants were a little splattered.

"Yeah I gotta go have a shower to clean this gunk off. You wanna join me?" he asked winking at her.

"No way!" she said slapping him, but not as hard as she usually did. "Stop being such a pervert honestly"

"I'm just voicing your desires for you," he said teasingly.

"My mind is not full of sick perverted fantasies like yours, if you keep going on like this I won't even let you hold my hand for a month!"

'_One of these days, I'll probably become your slave anyway__'_

It had been a passing thought at the time, but he couldn't believe that it was becoming a reality. Shinji kept his mouth shut, as he wanted to do much more than hold her hand. As Shinji walked off, Asuka smiled in triumph. The young boy went to his room with his shoulders slumped. He wondered how long it would take to get Asuka to sleep with him, the sexual tension was building up again and now that she was his again he didn't know if he could hold himself back. The male eva pilot opened his door and entered his room, dismissing his thoughts, he didn't want to think of Asuka as just an object, there was more to his love than just sex.

Shinji looked through his wardrobe to get some new clothes. He momentarily wondered when Asuka had taken the ring from his room, but then thought she could have taken it anytime last week, as he hadn't checked on it since he got it. The young boy looked out the window and saw the sun wasn't setting just yet but it was a little darker and he probably guessed it was somewhere around five o'clock. He looked up at his clock and found his thoughts confirmed as he read 4:53. 'Has that much time passed already? When I think about it though, we arranged for Misato and Asuka to arrive at around four o'clock so I guess that's right'

Shinji left his new clothes on his bed, exited his room and headed towards the shower, noticing some music playing. He nearly fell over as he saw Asuka dancing in the living room to the music. The young boy had rarely ever seen the redhead dance and only had the pleasure of dancing with her once. He wondered why he hadn't heard the music till now. The redhead noticed Shinji staring at her and pulled her lip down at him with her finger seductively. Shinji's chest exploded as his heart began to pound heavily. 'God doesn't she realise what a turn on she is?' Part of him wanted to run into the bathroom and escape, another part wanted to go to the living room to show Asuka just how much he loved her. His indecision left him rooted to the spot.

Asuka smiled cheekily and bent over revealing her ample bosom to the young boy, causing his jaw to drop. 'Since when was Asuka such a tease?' Shinji was so tempted but decided one night was better than a month. He tore his face away and walked into the bathroom. Asuka was a little shocked he had resisted her charms, but knew he would wear down eventually. Having exhausted herself a little from the dancing she turned the music off and sat down on the couch.

Today had been quite a turmoil for the young girl. Having woken up only to have a heated discussion with Misato, forcing her to remember the awful day that was yesterday. All the emotions from that day had surged up again and she just wanted to go back to her room to stay in solitude. Next thing Shinji barges into her room saying the lamest pick-up line in history, followed by his kiss. She had just wanted to give in then, she had been growing tired of pushing him away, especially that she knew he loved her. Her fear however had stopped her as always. Then Misato told her to go look for the baka, which she grudgingly accepted to do so.

Asuka had been angry the entire time, it seemed like everyone was ganging up on her now. If she wanted to be with Shinji she wanted to choose it herself not be forced into it. However a part of her knew, that her stubbornness was something to be reckoned with and perhaps everyone just realised that. But of course the most shocking part of the day had been when Misato picked her up and drove her to the store. One of the strongest feelings was that of betrayal. After all Shinji had said, he was going to leave her anyway. She had felt her stomach drop when she saw him get shot. In her head it just seemed impossible, after all he was the 'invincible Shinji.' Running over to him and seeing him cough up blood dispelled her doubts however and she hadn't even bothered to check his wound.

His death had hurt the young girl quite profoundly, most of it coming from the fact that she finally realised she loved him and now their chance together was gone. When Shinji had sat back up as if nothing had happened she really felt like killing him herself. The only thing that had stopped her is that she knew he had gone through much the same pain because of her. Of course then her anger had turned to Kaji, first for suggesting the idea to Shinji and then shooting him, but he had mysteriously disappeared. However the redhead thought that Misato would give him what he deserved. Upon coming home Asuka was glad Misato had left her alone with him, now she had Shinji all to herself.

There were so many conflicting emotions within the young girl, she wanted to kick him and she wanted to kiss him at the same time, so she did both. Asuka hadn't remembered about the ring till she had entered their residence. As she remembered about it, she thought that it was a fabulous way to insure Shinji stayed with her, besides what better punishment was there than to be her husband. 'That bastard loves me fine, but I'll show him what he got himself into' she thought mischievously.

And so with her anger at the young boy released and everything turning out wonderfully for the redhead, she was finally at peace. The day was getting late and they had school tomorrow. Asuka still wanted to do something today and now that she had Shinji with her as well, she could have some extra fun. The redhead got off the couch and went over to her room.

* * *

The young boy had walked into the bathroom and closed the door quickly before he decided otherwise. He stripped off his clothes and entered the shower. After turning on the hot water he relaxed under the gentle stream of water as it calmed his nerves. Shinji made sure to clean himself thoroughly not wanting any trace of the crimson substance left on him. Alone in the shower he began to think about the incident today.

After having left the house he was still angry at Asuka's stubbornness but knew it was difficult for her. He really didn't want to have to resort to using Kaji's plan, but he saw no alternative. Plus with all the recent happenings that had happened, it would indeed have seemed like he was trying to take his life, not that he wasn't actually depressed. So with this resolve he had called Kaji to initiate the plan and made his way to the spy's place to get the gun, blood pastels and the fake blood sachet from him.

Shinji had then left Kaji to get everything else prepared while he made his way to the store. As he was waiting in the alleyway for Kaji to come he had pulled out the gun to test it, only to have Kaji arrive. He had heard the car screeching to a halt and knew Asuka had arrived. Little did Shinji know that it had been pure luck that Asuka had arrived as he didn't know she had gone out to look for him. As the girls came he had a few moments of uncertainty but luckily Kaji was the one who was shooting him and he went through with it.

Having washed himself thoroughly the young boy turned off the water in the shower. He exited the shower and took a towel to dry himself. Shinji then placed the towel around his waist and exited the bathroom. Asuka was on her way back to her room as the door to the bathroom opened revealing a half naked Shinji with a towel around his waist. Shinji raised an eyebrow at Asuka and she blew him a kiss.

"Stop tempting me Asuka"

"So you think I'm tempting you now?"

"Well then, what are you doing?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but then again my natural charms usually tempt many men," she said flinging her hair back.

A naughty grin made its way onto Shinji's face. 'Two can play at this game.'

"Oops" said Shinji dropping his towel to the floor right in front of the redhead, much to her embarrassment.

Asuka turned away quickly her face as red as a tomato. "Dammit you dickhead, I did not want to see that!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, my towel accidentally fell," he said innocently.

"I don't care, just put it back on!" her face still averted.

The male eva pilot wrapped the towel around his waist again.

"Ok it's done"

The redhead turned to look at him again scowling. "Anyway I wanted to do something together before we go back to school tomorrow"

"Are you asking me out on a date?"

"No you numbskull we happen to be fucking engaged, to my misfortune, and I want to make use of my fiancé"

Shinji chuckled a little, "And what do you suggest my lovely princess?"

"If I hear anymore corny rubbish from you, you'll get a fist in the face. I was thinking something just nice and simple like maybe a walk, we don't really have time to do anything else anyway"

"I would suggest you change then Asuka, some of the fake blood has gone onto your shirt"

The young girl looked down to see her shirt had a few red smears here and there from the passionate exchange when they arrived. Asuka took off her shirt and threw it at Shinji, leaving her chest covered only by her bra. "Take that to the laundry boy, I'll go to my room to find a new shirt" she said walking off.

She had taken off her shirt in front of him and Shinji couldn't resist anymore. The young boy dropped the shirt on the floor and snuck up behind her, his hands ready.

"Don't even think about it," she said turning around just as he moved. He tried to stop himself, but lost balance and fell over onto Asuka.

They both fell to the floor with a thud but luckily Shinji had stopped his fall with his hands. Asuka looked up into Shinji's face with annoyance. "Get off me you klutz or I'll mmph" she said interrupted as Shinji closed the distance between their lips.

With Shinji on top, she had no escape as he kissed her. The redhead reached up to his ear and pinched it hard.

"Oww, there's no need to do that" Shinji exclaimed.

"Well I ask you to get off and you smooch me, I thought you misheard me and just made sure your ear was working right," she said smirking.

Shinji got off her, allowing her to get up. He noticed her room was still as messy as always. They both stood up and Asuka moved towards her wardrobe to find a new shirt. Shinji went up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He began to nuzzle her neck as she looked through the wardrobe.

"You just can't resist can you?" she said irritated.

"Well you only are the most beautiful girl in all of Tokyo-3"

"Damn straight! But you need to dress up as well so shoo!" she said prying his arms off her.

"But-" he started.

"Go!" she said kicking him out the door.

The young boy turned around only to be met by a closed door and decided he better just dress up. He knew Asuka was enjoying his affection regardless of how much she resisted him. Nevertheless, he didn't mind taking a walk with her at the moment. It would be night in a few hours and so it would be nice and cool. The male eva pilot noticed Asuka's shirt on the floor and picked it up. He went to the laundry and placed her shirt in the dirty clothes pile.

Shinji then returned to his room and changed into the new clothes he left on his bed. After changing he left his room only to find Asuka waiting outside his room for him. She had put on a dark red shirt and was currently playing with her hair. At the sound of his door opening she looked up at him with a smirk.

"It's you're lucky day today Shinji, I'm going to let you hold my hand while we walk" she said smugly.

"Thanks for the permission" he said sarcastically.

Asuka smiled at him, not her usual forced expression of joy, but rather a heartfelt and sincere manifestation of the true feelings within her heart. Shinji had thought Asuka was beautiful, but she was absolutely gorgeous when she was truly smiling. He loved how her red hair clung about her face and he loved the way her stunning blue eyes seemed brighter when she was addressing him. The young boy must have been staring at her for a while, because she smacked him on the head, startling him a little.

"We don't have time for you to just stand and stare, let's go already" she said impatiently, grabbing his hand.

The two eva pilots went through the front door and closed it behind them. The redhead turned to face Shinji a devious grin on her face.

"Let's have a race shall we?" she said.

"A race?" Shinji asked confused.

"Yeah whoever can make it down the stairs first wins, how about it?"

"Sure"

"But if you lose you have to sing 'I'm Asuka's bitch' at the front of our school in your underwear"

"That's ridiculous!"

"Well you get to sleep with me if I lose, so how about it?"

"Deal!" Shinji said instantly.

Asuka smiled triumphantly and turned towards the stairs. "Ready, Set, Go!" Asuka shouted and the two teens ran down the stairs both wanting to win.

Shinji was taking three steps at a time, desperate to win. The young boy felt disheartened when he saw Asuka ahead of him, he was going to lose. He urged himself onwards and jumped the remaining steps and just made it to the bottom of the stairs as Asuka did. The male eva pilot fell over from the impact while Asuka giggled at him.

"Well looks like it's a tie," said Asuka disappointed.

Shinji stood up quickly, desperate to receive his prize, "No, if we tied that means we both lose, therefore we both have to do what is required of us"

"Sounds fair," agreed Asuka a little too quickly.

Shinji shrugged it off; anything was worth the sacrifice of being able to make love to Asuka once again.

"Let's go then," said Asuka as she exited the building, followed by Shinji.

The young boy took her hand and felt elated as she entwined her fingers with his. Her hand felt soft and warm. The sun was beginning to set and a cool breeze blew about them, blowing the redhead's hair about her. The couple made their way to the park, just enjoying the other's presence. Asuka motioned to sit down on a bench, but Shinji shook his head remembering whom he had sat there with previously.

"Look just before she died, me and Aria sat down there. It's not that I loved her but she was a friend and I still feel guilty about killing her. I…err can we just sit somewhere else?" Shinji said gloomily.

Asuka knew Shinji must still be hurting inside from that incident and she herself didn't want to be reminded of how much she had urged Shinji on to take her life. Besides if it wasn't for her they wouldn't be together, so without saying a word Asuka pulled Shinji away to the other side of the park. The soon found another bench and the two sat down next to each other. Asuka laid her head on Shinji's shoulder as the two looked up at the darkening sky. As the night was getting cooler the two teens shivered slightly and Shinji placed his arm around Asuka's waist pulling her closer.

"You know I went to Rei's apartment today, she told me you stayed there last night" Asuka said.

"I didn't do anything, I slept on the couch and-" he said panicking.

"Baka! I know you're not THAT stupid to cheat on me, and I'll make you rot in hell forever if you ever do. But why did you go to Rei's place?"

"I couldn't face you after what had happened so I decided I would stay somewhere else. I was originally planning to go to either Kensuke's or Toji's house, but I found Rei at Nerv and asked her if I could stay with her. But I only think of her a sister so there's nothing going on"

"Yeah I remember the kiss you gave me to prove that already," she said grinning. "She told me something as I left though"

"What's that?"

"She said 'Pilot Souyru do not forget…you are the only one who can make Shinji happy.' But you know I just couldn't understand it, what do you see in me Shinji? What made you go through all this effort just for me?"

"I've always admired your courage and determination and you weren't like other pretty girls. You were smart for one and you were the first one to see the real me. Everyone thought I was just a nice quiet guy, but you would badmouth me and put me down. You may be a bitch but at least you were honest about what you were thinking and you were never afraid to express yourself. Plus regardless of all your bad qualities I had seen how vulnerable you could be, I knew despite how much you pushed people away you needed someone. It was then I think I started to love you and I was sick of running away"

"Well Shinji you know me, I hate all that sentimental rubbish so I'll get straight to the point. You're the biggest baka ever to exist on this planet, but I don't mind. If you can manage to stick with me all this time then you're worthy of being with me," she said grinning mischievously.

Shinji smiled at hearing that and moved his face close to hers. The two shared a kiss, not a strong passionate kiss, but a gentle one full of love and affection. The couple parted and Shinji stroked Asuka's magnificent red hair tenderly. Then Asuka got up and took the young boy's hand leading him away from the park. The sky had gone dark and the moon was out, casting a radiant glow on the two teens. The redhead's face betrayed no emotion as she walked on, but Shinji occasionally felt the soft squeeze of her hand when his hand loosened its grip.

The two eva pilots eventually made it up to the top of the hill overlooking Tokyo-3. They looked down seeing all the buildings and the lights in the city. The redhead turned to face Shinji her expression a little sullen.

"We've protected this city and the world from the angels and now they are all gone. But now Nerv is of no use and Seele will come and try to initiate Instrumentality through Third Impact. It sucks that in the end we have to protect ourselves from each other" she said looking down.

"Asuka I know the responsibility we carry is a massive burden, but I believe together we can do this" he said taking her hand.

"There's only one thing I ask of you Shinji, in the final battle to save mankind, just don't…don't die"

Shinji wrapped his arms around the redhead, embracing her warmly. He ran his hand up and down her back soothing her. The young boy then took her hand and they began their walk back to the apartment. Wanting to lift the mood a little Asuka spoke up.

"So…how did you get the idea of trying to make me jealous?"

"My father" he replied.

"The Commander suggested to try to make me jealous? Well it makes sense that he suggested _that_ method, but why would he want you to get with me?" she asked curious.

"Perhaps the little part inside of him that is still my father decided to help me"

"Well maybe when this is all over, that bastard might grow a soul,"

"Maybe, I don't know. But you know I was always wondering if I actually did make you jealous"

"The main thing I was feeling was hatred towards her, I was in disbelief that I had lost to her. I felt many other feelings too and I suppose your aim to get me jealous succeeded to an extent. But I'll tell you truth; I was scared of being with you. In my logical reasoning all I could see was no matter whom the person they would eventually leave me. But you know I can't go on like that anymore and you were different from others. I've insulted you, slapped you, rejected you, hurt you, fought you, belittled you, shoved you away and even told you I hated you. Yet you still came back, you always came back, even when I thought you had died, you came back, and that is why I want to be with you"

"Even if I'm a cowardly, perverted, henpecked baka?"

"Yeah I can live with that" she said smirking.

The couple continued walking on together and soon arrived at their apartment. They walked up the stairs in silence, just happy that for once they weren't running away from each other. Arriving at their door they unlocked it and opened it. The two teens entered their residence, noticing their guardian had not returned.

"Gee I wonder what punishment required Misato to stay all night at Kaji's place" said Asuka disdainfully, closing the door and locking it.

"Most probably she is-"

"Don't even go there" said Asuka threateningly.

Shinji shut his mouth and went over to the kitchen to make supper. Noticing what he was doing the young girl sat down at the dining table waiting for the meal to be ready. She watched in fascination at his ability, even with his injured hand. Though she would never admit it to the boy, she sometimes watched him as he cooked, as it was one of the rare times he was truly confident. She always thought that the look of concentration he had on looked adorable. Soon the supper was ready and Shinji placed the meals on the table. Asuka eagerly began eating her food, grateful to be able to satisfy her hunger. She finished her meal quickly and soon began to watch Shinji as he finished his meal.

"Why are you always so slow?" she asked.

"I don't have a particular German stomach that doesn't get indigestion after shoving a ton of food into it. Besides I like to enjoy my meal"

"Whatever"

The young boy just shook his head and continued to eat his supper. Upon finishing he looked up at Asuka, who was staring off into space.

"Your room or mine?" he asked.

"Huh?" she said.

"Your room or mine?" he repeated.

"What are you talking about?"

"Why did you wait for me to finish?"

"You don't want me to wait for you?"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten"

"Forgotten what?"

"Your promise from the race we had"

"Oh, your room I guess" she said remembering.

"Well it's late so we better get to bed now" he said eagerly.

"Sure thing" she replied.

The two eva pilots got up from the table and walked towards Shinji's room. Asuka was grinning as they walked and Shinji couldn't help shake the feeling that she was up to something. They entered the young boy's room and Shinji closed the door behind them. Asuka went over to Shinji's bed and got under the covers, lying down to sleep. Shinji just looked at her confused.

"What are you doing Asuka?" he asked her.

"I'm sleeping in your bed, what does it look like?"

"Why don't you take your clothes off?"

"Why would I sleep naked with you?" she asked incredulously.

"Because its easier to have sex that way" he said bluntly.

"Who said anything about sex?"

"You did, you promised if you lost-"

"That I would sleep with you, not have sex with you, and I will. We are going to sleep in the same bed tonight; Asuka doesn't go back on her word" she said smiling evilly.

"But-"

"You don't want me to? I can leave if you want"

"No, stay" he said defeated.

The young boy joined Asuka under the covers and wrapped his arms around her waist. The redhead felt soft and warm as he held her.

"Just remember to keep up your end of the deal. Sweet dreams," she said mockingly.

'Oh crap' he thought as he remembered what he had to do tomorrow…

* * *

End Notes: Heh you didn't think I'd make them have sex the first night do you :P? But anyway yeah Shinji faked his own death to get together with Asuka. You see Kaji was thought dead by Misato and only then did she realise she loved him, that's why Kaji suggested death because he's experienced the results. There was only one real give away as to what Kaji's plan was and that was the soap opera that Asuka watched after the discussion. A line said there was 'Do I have to die for you to realise your feelings for me?' Of course in the previous chapter, he calls Kaji first so you do suspect that something's going on as many readers did.

If anyone says I made Shinji live because of my readers is lying, this was always intended to happen. I know all the WAFF addicts will love this chapter. So there you go Shinji and Asuka finally get back together, NOW YOU CAN STOP ASKING ME :P. The only problem I can really see in this chapter is Asuka's feelings in the beginning after realising he was alive. I was trying to think how she would react but I couldn't come up with anything better than what I wrote. However I am sure there is definitely more description in this chapter than the last. Well please review I really want to know what my readers thought of this chapter.


	20. The Bet

Author's Notes: Oh fina-fucking-ly got it done, phew! I've been so pissed that it's taken this long to update. I got writer's block! (THE DREADED WRITER'S BLOCK!) So I was staring at my screen for like 2 weeks straight having no idea what to write . Well actually I did know what I wanted to happen in the chapter but for some reason I just had a massive block on how to get there. PLUS I started university, so I haven't had much time to write when I finally got past the writer's block. Anyways people never be scared of me not updating I am always updating this story and promise to finish it. Unless I die the next chapter WILL come. Anyways sorry for the long wait, I hope this chapter is worth the wait (though it's probably not ). This chapter is more a relief from all the drama then anything else and I tried to be humorous, so I hope you laugh but I'm sorry if you don't heh.

To Itansha about your question, I haven't said if he would fulfill his promise or not and secondly this is my story and I can change the timeline how I wish, I can make a one day delay or not in my story if I want to :P. (Just say the commander interfered with their plans).

A note to my readers, don't tell me Asuka's not a virgin. Of course I know! You think I'm that stupid? But I had a plan from the very beginning to deal with it so calm down!

To Patleon909 sorry but I don't update consistently as you can see . No I did not delay this on purpose to prove that to you, that'd be the stupidest thing I could ever do. I had a gap in update about this big only once before so it doesn't happen often; guess that's why you said I was consistent. Of course I hope I didn't lose any readers because of the long wait, including you.

To Darknemo I've got a plan for the virginity issue so don't sweat. Although it's a rather cheap method eh. Your point about the previous chapters is taken into consideration, but if you please I would very much like to finish the story before I go back and fix up the first chapters, I'm sure you understand.

Ok this is my new longest chapter, which is a whopping 14000 words (not including notes of course). Well regardless I hope you enjoy this chapter it did take a long time after all heh :D.

* * *

Chapter 20: The Bet

"You requested to speak with me?" he asked.

"Yeah and it's about damn time _sir_!" she replied annoyed.

"Your discussion was not of high priority and as I was engaged in the middle of a very important meeting, your delay was of little concern to me"

"A meeting with Seele no doubt" she spat.

"Major Katsuragi I do not care about your pointless speculations, why have you come here?"

"Is it true that you gave Ryouji Kaji the authorisation to arrange for the third child's fraudulent death?"

"I merely gave him permission to use whatever resources he wished, I did not give authorisation for any specifics" the commander replied emotionlessly.

"I am higher ranking than Mr. Kaji, why was I not informed?"

"It was to be handled by him alone, it was unnecessary to notify you of the situation"

Misato gritted her teeth; it wasn't worth arguing over. Besides Asuka had finally realised her own feelings for the third child because of the plan. Sighing she decided to ask him about Seele's intent, after all that was originally why she came.

"With all angels dead do Seele still intend to assault Nerv?"

"It is without a doubt"

"How long do we have?"

"I am unaware of how long it will take them to mobilise, however, I can guarantee you that their attack will commence soon"

"But without Seele's financial support, we are without means of preparing ourselves. What are we supposed to do?" asked Misato annoyed at the commander's calm.

"All that is required of you is to ensure that the pilots arrive at their evas"

"But what about infiltration?"

"Distribute firearms to every Nerv Personnel in the facility"

"Pardon my rudeness, but what the hell will _you_ be doing during the attack?"

"In the event of failure, which is most likely, I will self-destruct Nerv headquarters to prevent Seele initiating Third Impact"

Misato looked at him shocked, but as always the commander betrayed no emotion. A silence followed after as Misato couldn't think of anything else to say. The commander leaned back into his chair.

"If you have nothing else to discuss please depart from office and make sure you discharge Mr. Kaji from his prison. Dismissed" he said impassively.

The Major's lips curved up slightly as she remembered imprisoning the spy. Misato bowed and exited the commander's office, feeling a slight relief. This was short-lived as a sense of foreboding enveloped her; it was only a matter of days before Seele attacked, hell it could even be a matter of hours. Misato was really worried for her two charges, they had both gone through so much and finally broken the dam between them and now they had to risk their lives again. After all that Shinji went through, she didn't think he could handle Asuka's death and who knows what Asuka would do should Shinji actually die.

The Major shook her head to clear her thoughts, not wanting to be depressed. She continued down the long corridor towards the elevator hoping, that whatever happened, that at least the two children got to be with each other after this. After saving the world they deserved that much. Upon arriving at the elevator, Misato entered it and pressed the floor number for the Nerv holding cells. The elevator began its time-consuming descent and the Major tapped her heel impatiently. She recalled the events that had transpired after she left the two eva pilots alone at her apartment.

Deciding that her 'beloved' darling was stupid enough to return to his apartment she had headed over there. As the spy opened the door she almost punched his face in, greeting her with that stupid smile of his. He then said his typical 'hello Katsuragi,' infuriating her even more. But the look of shock on his face when she handcuffed him was priceless. The Major had been smiling the whole journey to the Nerv cells. But the best part was when she had locked him in the prison and the man had finally realised it wasn't a joke.

"_Oi Misato. You aren't serious are you?" asked Kaji._

"_As punishment for your insubordination I have imprisoned you, too bad you work here and I'm Major" she said suppressing a grin._

"_Come on Katsuragi, I did it for Shinji"_

"_Don't give me that crap. If you just did it for Shinji, why did you run off?"_

"_I was scared!"_

"_There's no reason to be scared unless you're guilty! Maybe a night in this cell will help you understand Mr. Kaji"_

_The man looked back at her in disbelief, she was smiling innocently as she closed the door, plunging the prison into darkness._

The Major had left the poor man in the cell all night. She had found the paperwork she had to do in her office much easier to do than usual, perhaps because all she kept thinking about was his face as she closed the door, followed by a snigger.

'That jerk deserved it, so what if I was abusing my authority. The commander does it all the time, can't I have fun for once?' she thought trying to silence her conscience.

The elevator finally reached its level and the door opened. Misato stepped out and proceeded to the cell where she had left the unfortunate spy. As she arrived at his cell, she put on a blank face and opened the door. Kaji covered his eyes with his hand as the light assaulted him. The man almost smiled as he saw the familiar figure of Misato. The purple-haired woman turned to face her lover and spoke.

"The commander requested that I release you. You're lucky this time Kaji"

"But of course I'm lucky. I have the most wonderful woman in the world, I consider myself lucky everyday" he said charmingly.

"Shut your mouth and get your ass out of here before I change my mind"

"Understood Katsuragi!" he said mock saluting.

Misato just rolled her eyes as the man got up and approached her. As his eyes finally adjusted to the light, he could clearly see the Major.

"It seems you look more beautiful than ever Katsuragi, or maybe it's the fact that I haven't seen anything at all for a whole night" he said playfully.

"I swear I will shoot you again and I won't miss this time" she said annoyed.

The man grabbed her and forcefully placed his lips on hers. The Major found herself kissing him back, as well as other things. The two adults parted, leaving Misato red-faced and breathless. Kaji gave her his charming smile before walking off.

"See you Katsuragi, I really must get home. I suppose you should check up on your two kids," he said waving his hand to her and disappearing out of sight.

"Damn that bastard! I don't think he actually minded spending all night in jail" she to herself.

Sighing the Major turned around and headed back to the elevator. Traversing the dark halls of Nerv always seemed depressing. 'You know it would help lift the mood if they actually bothered to put proper lighting down here. I mean seriously we're not rats, I think Ikari is way too much into the whole dark, ominous aura.' Relieved at finally reaching the elevator, the Major entered it and pressed the floor number for the car pool. The elevator doors closed and it began lumbering again to its destination.

'And what's with these ridiculously slow elevators? Is Nerv's budget too small to afford better elevators? Honestly in times of emergency this is just a nuisance' she thought irritated.

Eventually the elevator reached its floor and Misato gladly headed over to her car in the car pool. She opened the door and sat down in the driver's seat. The car started up as she turned the ignition and she quickly made her way to the car elevator. The elevator took her car up to the surface where she drove off towards her apartment. The Major began to think about her two charges left at her residence. 'Wait a second, did I just leave two hormone-filled teenagers who love each other all alone in my apartment? Damn, all I could think about was kicking Kaji's ass. Even though Asuka was going to punish him, I know that Asuka has desires and what she wants she usually gets, especially that in this case Shinji would desire it as well'

With this in mind Misato decided to drive just a little bit faster, ready to give them a lecture. She had allowed it before, but she still had to lecture them. Besides she hadn't ever caught them before, which was a strange thing. Soon she had arrived at her apartment and she parked her car. The Major got out of her car and entered the building, making her way up the stairs. Upon reaching her door she unlocked it and opened it, finding it completely silent. Misato entered her residence and closed the door behind her.

* * *

The two children were comfortably lying down together in a peaceful slumber. Shinji had moved one leg over the redhead and one of his hands had moved up from her waist to her chest. Despite their position the young girl did not protest, in fact it seemed she enjoyed the intimacy. However, this was probably due to the fact she had fallen asleep before Shinji had shifted his limbs and thus she was completely unaware of her arrangement. Unfortunately for Shinji, Asuka was the first to wake.

The redhead slowly opened her eyes as she woke. She was momentarily confused as to why she felt warmth coming from behind her, but then remembered that she had gone to sleep with Shinji. Asuka smiled happily, the night had been peaceful and without nightmares. Furthermore she felt a pleasant sensation across her chest. The young girl yawned and tried to sit up, but found herself bound by two arms and a leg. At Asuka's movement, Shinji unconsciously fondled her breast softly. Sudden realisation hit the redhead, as she understood what was causing the sensation on her chest. Before she could smack the poor boy, she heard someone enter their apartment. Knowing that it could only be Misato, a devious smile formed on her lips.

Asuka grabbed Shinji's hand on her chest and lightly pinched him. The boy shifted a little, waking up slightly. The young girl quickly turned her head and whispered to the boy as she heard footsteps approaching their door.

"Shinji say Misato's name three times, the first soft, the next one louder and the last one shouting. Say it when you hear the door open" she said quietly.

"Why?" he replied still half asleep.

"Because I said so!" she said slightly louder, digging her nails into his hand.

"Alright, alright" he said.

The redhead turned her head back just as the door opened and Misato took in the sight. The Major saw the two teens in bed with each other with one of Shinji's hands resting on Asuka's breast.

"Misato" Shinji said softly.

The Major looked at the boy curiously, wondering if he was awake, but noticed his eyes were closed. 'Am I hearing things?' she thought. The redhead let out a moan and pressed Shinji's hand into her breast.

"Misato!" Shinji said louder.

The Major looked utterly confused at what was going on, especially with the redhead increasing her moans.

"MISATO!" Shinji shouted followed by a grunt caused by Asuka elbowing him in the stomach, which sounded strangely like a relieved sigh.

A loud thud was heard as Misato dropped to the floor as if she were made of lead. Asuka could not contain herself and burst out laughing, making her cry from mirth. Shinji finally woke up, outright confused at the redhead's actions. First she had wanted him to say 'Misato' three times, then she elbowed him and now she was in hysterics. The young boy moved his leg off the redhead.

"Asuka why are you laughing?" he asked bewildered.

Asuka stopped laughing and wiped the tears from her eyes. She removed Shinji's arm and sat up, pointing at the purple-haired mass on the floor.

"I made her think you had an orgasm over her" she said pissing herself once again.

"What?" asked Shinji alarmed.

"She walks in to find you fondling my breast with me moaning and you call out her name three times, it must have looked like you were having a wet dream or something" she said still laughing.

"Asuka how in the world are we going to explain this to Misato? I wasn't even in on this plan, that was kinda cruel"

"She'll probably just think it was a bad dream or something, besides there wasn't enough time to explain the plan to you and you probably would have refused. Why are you complaining anyway? You got to cop a free feel"

The boy just sighed; there wasn't anything he could do anyway, Misato was already lying unconscious on the floor. Shinji found that his other arm felt numb from having had its circulation cut off. He flexed it trying to get the feeling back into his arm. Asuka flung her hair back before getting out of Shinji's bed. However the young boy would not allow her to escape so easily. He quickly moved his legs off the bed and grabbed Asuka, placing her on his lap.

"What in the world are you doing Ikari?" she asked irritated.

The young boy moved his mouth down to her neck and began to plant wet kisses on her. He had both arms wrapped around the redhead's waist as he continued to kiss her neck and shoulders. He boldly moved one of his hands up the redhead's thigh. Asuka responded by closing her legs, closing off any access to the boy's hand. Shinji just chuckled and removed his hand.

"Are you so desperate to take my virginity third child?" she asked incredulously.

"What are you talking about Asuka? You have-haven't had sex?" he said catching himself. He had been so close to letting slip that she had lost her virginity.

"What do you take me for Shinji? I'm only fourteen of course I haven't had sex. Are you implying I'm a slut?"

"No, no. Nothing of the sort" he said quickly.

"Have YOU ever had sex Ikari?" she asked him.

"Err no" he lied.

"Precisely, now let go of me you pervert" she said elbowing him in the chest.

The male eva pilot released Asuka from his grasp allowing her to stand up. The young girl turned around to face the boy, placing her hands on her hips. Shinji eyed her warily as she put on a sweet smile.

"You better start making breakfast and our lunches, I don't want to be late to school. No more hanky panky alright? Oh and don't forget what you have to do today" she said grinning devilishly.

The boy could not help wondering how he had fallen in love with her. He took in her beautiful figure as she stood there facing him. As always he thought there wasn't a more gorgeous creature on the planet. He loved her impish grin and wicked eyes; it was almost like she was having fun tormenting him. But when he thought about it she probably was. Shinji looked down to her slim waist, then to her hips and then down to her legs. 'She really does have great legs' he thought.

Asuka raised her eyebrow at the boy checking her out. 'I know I'm beautiful, but seriously I'm going to smack him soon if he doesn't stop just staring at me like an idiot.' The redhead went over to him and flicked on the forehead.

"Just because you now have permission to look at me, doesn't mean you have to gawk me. I swear birds could come in and make a nest on your head and you wouldn't notice. Not to mention I asked you to do something, so hop to it!" she commanded.

"Yes Asuka" he said resignedly. "Let me dress up first"

The young girl stood up and walked towards the door, exiting his room. Shinji then proceeded to change into his school uniform before exiting the room himself. The young boy moved over to the kitchen to make breakfast while Asuka had gone to the bathroom to have a shower. As Shinji began preparing their morning meal he remembered that he had left Misato unconscious in his room. Despite his concern for his guardian, he really didn't want to confront her after this morning's incident and decided he would just let her wake up by herself.

There was another problem now. He had almost forgotten Asuka wouldn't remember that she was no longer a virgin. Truthfully he hadn't thought about that at all, but this created a small issue. How was he to make love to her without her discovering she isn't a virgin? He very quickly dismissed the thought of getting her drunk, chances were she was more alcohol tolerant than he was. But what could he do? He doubted she wouldn't notice the lack of pain upon having intercourse. 'Great after finally getting back together with her, I get another problem'

The girl in question had finished her shower and exited the bathroom. The young boy had the almost irresistible urge to look back at her, clad only in a towel, but forced himself to concentrate on making breakfast. Asuka entered her room and changed into her school uniform. She pondered how she should behave at school now that she was together, even engaged, with Shinji. The young girl didn't care what others thought of her; if she wanted to be with Shinji she couldn't care less if others questioned it. Asuka knew that a few girls liked Shinji and announcing their relationship could have some of the female population against her. Some of the boys might get jealous too, but there was one good thing; it would stop those perverted boys asking her out.

'I know what Hikari will say. She'll say she knew we liked each other all along and that we are so sweet together or some rubbish. The two stooges will probably say I cast an evil spell on him. Bloody morons, who could resist me anyway? Well either way after Shinji's performance today, I think it'll be pretty obvious he's mine anyway' she thought snickering.

The young girl exited her room and proceeded to the kitchen to check on Shinji. She saw he was still at work preparing their breakfast, but it looked like he was almost finished. Asuka snuck up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist as he had done last week. Shinji was a little surprised at the contact at first but soon found his movement restricted with the young girl's arms around him. Shinji sighed but then a small smile crept upon his face.

"You know Asuka, you're giving me an erection," he said jokingly.

"WHAT?" she said instantly moving off of him.

Shinji chuckled at her reaction; he didn't think he'd be so successful in removing her. The redhead just scowled at him.

"To think I believed you wanted my affection, guess I was wrong" she said walking off.

"Oh come on Asuka, I'm cooking. Breakfast is almost ready, just sit down at the table" he replied sighing.

"No I'm going to sit down on the stove," she said sarcastically. "You don't need to tell me you baka," she said sitting down at the dining table.

Shinji couldn't help grinning; she was so cute sometimes. The young boy soon finished making the breakfast and placed the meals down on the table. After sitting down to start eating, Asuka began wolfing her meal down as fast as she could. Shinji was still eating when Asuka had finished her meal. She looked up at him, waiting for him to finish before leaving the table.

"You remember yesterday when I was dancing?" she asked him.

"Mmm" he replied.

"I remembered more of the past," she stated.

"Really?" he asked.

"I remember going to the school dance with you as a partner and I was wearing one of my favourite dresses. That black one"

Shinji nodded remembering how good she looked in that dress. The redhead looked at him questioningly as if expecting an explanation. Shinji stopped eating for the moment to address her.

"Well you see, Hikari was going to the dance and wanted you to come but you didn't have a partner. Hikari suggested you bring me and so you did, I guess you wanted to show off your dress too," he said.

"But I actually danced with you Shinji"

"There was no one else you would dance with and I was your partner after all. Besides you didn't see any problem with it, it was only a dance, just like the one during our synchronisation training"

The young girl looked at him suspiciously. "You know Shinji, I'm starting to think you're just a very good liar"

"Nonsense, how could you say that? Even ask Hikari about the dance" he said hoping she wouldn't call his bluff.

"Well you did say we became better friends, I guess I can believe it. But you know it seems you have a perfectly innocent explanation every time. If it wasn't for your lack of hesitance, I would say you make it up on the spot"

Shinji sweat dropped; he did make it up on the spot every time. It was only luck each time that he was able to say it as it came to mind. The young boy really wanted to steer the conversation away from this topic.

"So Asuka, does it really hurt the first time for a woman?" he asked her.

"Very subtle Ikari" she said sarcastically. "Yes it does hurt the first time for a woman, you should know that. However, how much it hurts and how long it hurts depends on the person, it's not going to be the same experience for everyone. Are you worrying about me Shinji by any chance?"

"Well yeah a little"

She laughed at the boy. "The Great Asuka can handle anything, what's a little momentary pain going to do?"

"That's good to hear," he said pretending to sound relieved.

"It's just like you to worry about something so stupid" she said having already forgotten about the previous topic of discussion.

But after hearing what she had said, the male eva pilot suddenly got an idea of how to make sure she thinks she loses her virginity. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all. Shinji resumed eating his breakfast, while Asuka began watching him eat. Shinji noticed this of course.

"Now who's the one staring?" he asked.

"You should feel honoured that I'm even bothering to look at you, baka. Hurry up and finish eating and make our lunches already"

"Hai, hai" he said.

Shinji finished his meal and stood up. He took his and Asuka's dishes and placed them in the sink. He then started making their bentos.

"If you even so much as arrange anything in the shape of a heart or something you are seriously going to get kicked up the ass," she warned menacingly.

Shinji chuckled nervously, knowing that she meant it. The young boy used careful precision to make sure the lunch was presented as it usually was. He sweated profusely as he thought Asuka was breathing down his neck, watching his every move. In actual fact she wasn't even in the kitchen anymore. The redhead had moved over to the front door and was waiting patiently for Shinji to finish preparing their lunches. When he finished he carefully looked it over and then turned his head slowly to face Asuka only to find that she wasn't there.

"Hurry up already you baka!" was heard from the front door.

"Just finished" he called out.

The male eva pilot took both bentos and went to his room to pack them both into his bag. He then continued on to the front door to where Asuka was waiting for him. She turned to look at him with mock anger.

"About time" she said irritated.

"Sorry Asuka" he said scratching his head. "I've packed both lunches into my bag, we can go now"

"And here I thought I taught you to stop saying sorry" she said poking his forehead.

The young girl then grabbed his hand and pulled him out of their residence. After closing and locking the door the two eva pilots made their way into the elevator. Asuka pressed the number for the ground floor and the elevator doors closed. As the elevator began its descent the redhead leant back against the wall and looked off into space. Shinji locked his eyes onto Asuka, looking at her curiously. She was tapping her fingers on the elevator wall while idly playing with her hair. 'She's not in her usual rush to get to school this time' he thought.

As the elevator reached the ground floor the doors opened causing Asuka to shift her gaze towards the opening. She momentarily glanced at the male eva pilot before exiting the elevator. Shinji soon followed suit, noticing how the sun reflected off of the young girl's hair when she stepped out of the building. As always the redhead looked as radiant as ever, even more so now that she had just taken a shower. Asuka began walking towards the school and Shinji walked alongside her, taking her hand. He was grateful that today she only wanted to walk; he wasn't really in the mood for jumping over cars and such. Besides he got to enjoy her company.

"So what's going to happen at school?" Shinji asked her randomly.

The redhead couldn't help smirking. "You're going to get out to the front of school and sing-"

"No, not that Asuka" he said interrupting her. "How are we going to behave at school?"

"However we want to, I couldn't care less what others think. But that doesn't mean that you have to get carried away either mind you"

Shinji just rolled his eyes. There were very few people about the city and their journey towards school was unhindered by crowds and people. The two teens supposed that after all the angel attacks the city had suffered, the damage the city had received and the lack of a public transport system, many people had decided to leave. Perhaps it was for the better after all, with the imminent attack from Seele maybe all of the people should be evacuated from the city. Perhaps the government was trying to prevent panic by not announcing the attack.

The two eva pilots had no trouble when crossing the roads as there were very few motor cars about, in fact more people seemed to be riding bicycles instead. Soon the couple had reached the front gates of the school. Despite their leisurely pace the two had still arrived early at school. Well taking into consideration that their walk was almost completely unhindered, it wasn't that much of a surprise. The two had completely forgotten that they were holding hands and were totally oblivious to the stares and glances they were receiving. The school was also not as crowded with students as it usually was, so there wasn't any commotion caused.

The two teens soon made it to their classroom and Asuka let go of Shinji's hand to walk through the doorway. Shinji followed Asuka through and both were surprised to see very few students in class; Hikari, Toji and Kensuke were in the classroom though. Upon noticing the arrival of the two eva pilots all three walked over to them.

"What was the angel like?" Kensuke immediately asked.

"Hey man relax," said Toji to Kensuke.

"But I never saw it, it must have been inside Nerv or something!" Kensuke replied.

"Are you two alright?" Hikari asked concerned.

"Yeah" they both said.

"So Shinji tell me about the angel" said Kensuke eagerly.

"I'd rather not" Shinji replied.

"But-" he started.

"Stop bothering him you stooge" said Asuka interrupting him.

"Look man, Asuka's right this time, can't you see how down he looks when you mention the angel?" said Toji.

Kensuke just stayed silent.

"Yo Shinji where's Aria? She usually comes early but she ain't here. She's your girlfriend, you have any idea?"

A pained expression crossed Shinji's face and Asuka decided she would tell them. She knew the young boy was still hurting over her death.

"Well you see Aria was-" Asuka started.

"-very upset when I broke up with her. She left Japan, so I suppose I'll never see her again" said Shinji interrupting her. He didn't want her to be remembered as an angel, but as a person.

Asuka's forehead creased slightly, but she didn't see the harm in it. Toji looked at Shinji surprised, HE had broken up with her.

"Why in the world would you break up with Aria?" asked Toji completely puzzled.

"Asuka why have you got a ring on your finger? Are you engaged?" asked Hikari noticing the ring on Asuka's finger.

"Yes I am"

"The red devil's engaged?" asked Toji astounded, so many strange things were happening today. "Who in god's name could tame such a beast?"

"Shutup you moron!" shouted Asuka.

"Who are you engaged to Asuka?" asked Hikari curious.

Asuka smiled impishly and turned to kiss Shinji on the lips in front of the whole class. Toji's jaw dropped as well as a few others. Time froze as everyone stared in shock at the spectacle before them. The couple parted and blushed at the stares being given to them. Toji's mind, unable to register what had just happened, kept his whole body motionless. It wasn't until a fly flew into his open mouth and he started choking that he became unfrozen.

"What the hell? You broke up with Aria, so you could be with _her_?" Toji yelled at Shinji.

Somehow Kensuke had suspected something like this. He didn't think Shinji could just give up on Asuka and go out with Aria. Toji on the other hand had a vein pulsing on his head.

"You betrayed us!" Toji shouted.

"Hey man relax," said Kensuke.

"How can you be so calm? Shinji is going out with our enemy!" Toji said hysterical.

"Toji stop this now!" said Hikari grabbing his ear. "I for one am happy that these two finally got together"

"But Hikari" said Toji in pain.

"Look if Shinji likes her, than that's how it is. Would you want Shinji to complain about you going out with Hikari? He's our friend before she's our enemy, surely we can respect his wishes" said Kensuke.

Toji calmed down and Hikari released her hold. The jock looked at Shinji with disbelief. "So you're really with her Shinji? She hasn't put you under a spell?" asked Toji.

"Yes I'm really with her, she hasn't put me under a spell" Shinji said chuckling.

"Jeez if anyone's under a spell, it would be me. Shinji should be thanking his lucky stars everyday he's got someone like me as a girlfriend" said Asuka arrogantly.

"No way, _you_ should be thanking _your _lucky stars that there's someone in this world that can stand you!" said Toji.

"Don't even get me started on you, you stupid jock!" Asuka refuted.

"At least I'm not an uber-bitch who goes out with the boy she insults everyday!"

Asuka raised her fist, which was mirrored by Toji. However both combatants found themselves unable to strike as Shinji held back his girlfriend and Hikari held back her boyfriend by the ear.

"Cmon Asuka, there's no need to fight. Even you were slightly angry when Hikari went out with Toji" Shinji said.

"Oh fine" said Asuka stepping back.

When Toji dropped his fist Hikari once again let go of his swollen ear. Toji turned his face away.

"Ok then Asuka, I'll accept this for now. But if you betray Shinji in any way, you'll have to deal with me" Toji said.

With that the jock went over and sat down at his desk, Kensuke moved away and went over to Toji. Hikari looked at him a little worried. Shinji placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it Hikari, he'll get over it" Shinji reassured her.

"Yeah you're right," said Hikari smiling. She turned to face Asuka "I'm so happy for you Asuka. You have to tell me all the details. What have you done with him so far? Have you-" she said her voice trailing off as the two girls moved away from Shinji.

The male eva pilot walked over to Kensuke and Toji. Shinji gave Toji a pat on the back. Despite his behaviour, Toji was being a loyal friend. The jock looked up at the eva pilot looking just about ready to explode.

"I _can_ admit Asuka's more attractive than Aria. But still, Aria was so nice. I don't see the logic at all! _And_ you're ENGAGED?" Toji said.

"It's complicated," replied Shinji.

"And you Kensuke, this news didn't seem like a surprise to you at all" said Toji.

"Well if you paid attention, I think you would find it pretty obvious that Shinji has liked Asuka for a while. You know sometimes you are a dumb jock," replied Kensuke.

"Shutup! At least I don't spend hours playing Dating Simulators because I can't get a real girl" refuted Toji.

"Kensuke I thought you swore off those things when the cyber-girl in 'CyberWhores, The Easy Streets' said she 'just wanted to be friends,' ran the uninstall program and permanently deleted itself off of the computer" said Shinji.

"Well you see…ah just shutup," said Kensuke blushing.

Toji couldn't help laughing at the military otaku. Shinji placed his hand on Toji's shoulder and smiled at him reassuringly.

"If you were scared that I would forget you guys or stop being your friend, don't worry. I'll always be your friend guys" Shinji said.

Toji looked up at Shinji with a tear in his eye. The jock went over and hugged the eva pilot.

"God damn you're the best Shinji. Group hug!" said Toji.

Shinji, Toji and Kensuke all shared a group hug. Asuka looked over at the group and just let out a sigh. Well she supposed three idiots together would always behave like idiots. The female eva pilot turned back to Hikari.

"The three stooges are at it again," Asuka said to Hikari.

"I think their friendship is a nice thing Asuka, besides boys will be boys" Hikari said.

"I suppose…"

"So have you done anything with Shinji yet?" Hikari asked timidly.

"We've kissed and gotten engaged, the end"

"So you two haven't err…?" she said trailing off, her cheeks going slightly pink.

"No we haven't had sexual intercourse Hikari, why have you?" Asuka said bluntly.

"No, no! It's just that you seem so mature and I thought maybe you might have done something further than just kiss" Hikari replied blushing harder.

"We only did get together on Sunday and in the afternoon too"

"You've only been dating one day and you're already engaged Asuka?"

"Think of it as an insurance" said Asuka smirking.

"Honestly Asuka, you should take something like marriage seriously! But you know when I think about this, I always thought you would get-"

"Oh don't go saying you've always known we were for each other. Truthfully it was only yesterday I discovered my feelings for that baka"

"Oh what happened?" asked Hikari curious.

"Well let's just say he proved to me that he would never leave me. For all his stupidity, it actually gave him the hope not to give up on me. In the end he's not as bad as I thought. But of course don't tell anyone I said that" Asuka remarked.

"My lips are sealed"

Just then the bell rang signifying the beginning of class. The progression of time had not increased the number of students in the class; it was unusually small today. Rei was absent too. The few students that were there went to their desks and Hikari said her customary "Rise! Bow! Sit!" The class began with yet again another second impact lecture from the old teacher.

Since there were very few students it was almost impossible to do anything without the teacher noticing. As such all children in the class were forced to really pretend that they were paying attention. Shinji was finding it very difficult to even try to keep his attention on the teacher. The young boy desperately tried to think of an idea to get out of the class or at least pass the time. He looked up at Toji to see him constantly glancing at Hikari, obviously wary of falling asleep in class. Shinji then looked over at Asuka, to see her staring ahead with her eyes glazed. It almost looked like she was asleep with her eyes open, but the occasional blink showed she was awake.

"Mr. Ikari would you mind explaining what relation Miss Langley has to this discussion?" the teacher asked.

Shinji blushed as all eyes in the room turned upon him. A few girls giggled at him. He noticed Asuka was smiling smugly; it was almost as if she was saying 'I told you so.'

"Err…there is none sir" Shinji replied.

"Good then pay attention," said the teacher as he continued his discussion.

Shinji held his head in his hands. 'Damn that was embarrassing.' Not wanting to be caught again, the male eva pilot paid extra attention to the old teacher. 'Man how more boring is class without messaging other people.' However now that the young boy was listening he noticed that the teacher would actually teach proper things but would soon deviate off topic. It just so happened he was trying to teach Mathematics today. Shinji wondered what vital academic information he had missed out on all this time because he always tuned the teacher out.

'So that's how a derivative works. I was always having problems factorising quadratics too, wow it's really simple if someone explains it to you'

However Shinji's academic revelations were short-lived as the bell rang, signaling the beginning of lunch. Slightly reluctant, but only slightly, the young boy got up from his desk and began to head over to the exit. Since there were fewer students then usual, there wasn't a massive pileup of people against the doorway as there usually was. Asuka walked up to Shinji and tapped him on the shoulder. The male eva pilot grunted as an acknowledgement of her presence.

"Well I guess I'm not the only one who thinks you should stop staring at me," said Asuka smugly.

"Like you don't enjoy the attention," he replied.

"Well someone else is going to get a lot of attention soon" she said grinning evilly.

Shinji groaned as he recalled he had to live up to his end of the deal. The young boy turned to face his fiancé with a look of desperation.

"You know Asuka, I really _really_ don't want to do this"

"Well you should have thought about it before you opened your mouth"

"Don't you have any mercy? Even more so that you're engaged to me"

"Doesn't make a difference to me, besides you're a man of your word aren't you?"

"I will get you back for this Asuka, I swear to god"

She just grinned at him. The female eva pilot urged Shinji on, in case he tried to run away, as they made their way to the front of the school. The two teens emerged out the front doors and walked down the steps. Asuka turned to face Shinji.

"Pants to the floor boy"

"Could you at least exempt that part?" he asked hopelessly.

"No way, anyone can sing in front of people. That part MUST be done"

Shinji blushed embarrassed as he unbuckled his belt and let his pants fall to the floor. Thank god there weren't many students here, it didn't seem like anyone had noticed what he was doing yet.

"Attention! Attention! I have an announcement to make!" shouted Asuka.

'Oh great, go ahead and invite the whole of Tokyo-3…well I shouldn't have expected any less from Asuka'

Many students turned their heads towards the redhead, wondering what was happening. Few curious glances were cast at Shinji when they noticed he had his pants down. Shinji could not look at anyone he was so embarrassed.

"My friend here wants to share something with all of you. Make sure you get everyone you can here to watch, I don't think anyone wants to miss this," said Asuka to the crowd that had gathered. She then turned to face Shinji. "Go ahead third child" she said smiling mischievously.

Shinji gave her the worst glare possible he could muster before looking down at the ground. He opened his mouth ready to start singing. Very quietly he sang 'I'm Asuka's bitch.' Only Asuka could hear him however.

"Louder Shinji, the crowd must be able to hear you" Asuka said 'encouraging' Shinji.

"I'm Asuka's bitch," he sang a little louder.

A few girls started giggling as they heard this. However Asuka was not satisfied.

"Louder boy, hold your head up so you're not singing to the ground," said Asuka.

'Oh what the hell' Shinji thought.

The young boy lifted his head up. "I'm Asuka's bitch, yeah I'm Asuka's bitch. Man am I Asuka's bitch. Whose bitch am I? Asuka's! Oh yeah. I am the bitch of Asuka. The person I am the bitch of is Asuka. Asuka's bitch is me," he sang loudly.

Now way past the stage of embarrassment the young boy kept singing, even dancing a little. Many people in the crowd burst out laughing, a few others could not stand the embarrassing sight and walked off. Toji and Kensuke started weeping as they saw what their dear friend was forced to endure. To Shinji's surprise a few other boys joined in, pulled their pants down and starting singing along with him. Asuka could not contain her laughter anymore. A few of the teachers at the school had come out to see what all the commotion was about and were _very _surprised to take in the sight of several boys singing without their pants on. The boys sang in harmony and had Shinji finishing off with a very loud "I am Asuka's bitch!"

The entire crowd began clapping and cheering and Shinji bowed down to the crowd, as did the other boys. A devious idea came to Shinji's head and he walked over to Asuka. She looked at him curiously before he forced his lips onto hers, kissing her in front of everyone in his underwear. The young girl tried to push him off of her, but he held her in place. 'She deserves the embarrassment after what I just had to do' he thought. Eventually he parted and earned a slap from the redhead, but he thought it was definitely worth it. Two teenage boys plowed their way to Shinji.

"You know Shinji, I think you should put your pants back on," said Kensuke.

"Thanks" said Shinji blushing, pulling his pants back up and buckling his belt.

"What is this demon? I'm no expert but I don't think this is what couples do to each other," said Toji to Asuka.

"Shinji lost a bet fair and square. He agreed to the terms completely and therefore had to present this performance," she said nonchalantly.

"She isn't lying Shin-man?" Toji asked Shinji disbelievingly.

"No, she's telling the truth" Shinji replied.

The jock eyed the female eva pilot warily, but before anything could happen the principal of the school came up to Shinji and Asuka. The expression he had on his face suggested that the two teens were in deep trouble.

* * *

The woman opened her eyes slowly. She found herself looking at a bedpost. Utterly confused she attempted to get up, to find that her mouth was glued to the floor by a long line of drool. Lifting her head up she wiped off the offending saliva from her mouth with her hand. The purple-haired woman looked around the room, puzzled momentarily, until she recognised it as Shinji's room.

'What am I doing on the floor, unconscious in Shinji's room?' Misato thought to herself.

Suddenly a flood of memories flashed through her mind as she recalled bits and pieces of what had happened this morning. Her face turned into a scowl. 'I just know this is Asuka's fault somehow' she thought bitterly. As the Major stood up, she did a couple of stretches to remove the stiffness she felt from her body. After stretching Misato exited Shinji's room wondering what time it was. She noticed that the residence was empty so she concluded it must be past school time already. The Major looked up at the clock and swore, which sounded more like a croak, as she saw it was in the afternoon already.

Misato's throat felt as if she had swallowed a mouthful of sawdust. The Major went over to the kitchen, opened the fridge and took out a beer to quench her parched throat. Gulping it down in record speed, she found herself now able to form intelligible sounds. She threw the empty beer can into the trash.

"I will get you for this Asuka" she said raising her fist in the air.

As if on cue the phone rang distracting her from her thoughts. The bright ring tone cut through the silence of the apartment as Misato went over to pick up the receiver.

"Misato Katsuragi speaking" she stated.

"Greetings Miss Katsuragi I am Tamako Yuji, principal of Tokyo-3 high school. You are the guardian of Mr. Ikari and Miss Souyru correct?"

"Hai"

"I have called them to my office my disrespectful behaviour at school and wished to inform you of their detainment. If you were able to come by the school to see them it would be helpful, of course only if it doesn't cause any inconvenience"

"No, no it's fine. I'll come by right away"

"Thank you, goodbye Miss Katsuragi"

"Goodbye"

The phone hung up and Misato placed the receiver back down. To say she was utterly confused was an understatement, as was shown by her facial expression. 'Disrespectful behaviour? Asuka makes sense, but Shinji too? Don't tell me they made love in school…' she thought shaking her head. 'Well only one way to find out.'

The purple-haired woman moved over to the front door and opened it. After closing it behind her she locked the door and continued on down the stairs. After exiting the building Misato went over to her parked car and unlocked it. She entered the driver's seat and put her seatbelt on. After turning the ignition, taking off the handbrake and putting the car into gear, the Major stepped on the accelerator and began to drive off towards the school. There was much less traffic than usual, which only allowed Misato to pull off crazier stunts as she drove. Misato was very curious as to why her two charges got into trouble.

* * *

"Your guardian is coming here to see you two," said the principal to the two eva pilots.

Both teens had curious expressions on their faces. Misato was actually bothering to come over for disciplinary matters. After the principal had come up to them, he had asked them both to come to his office. As the other boys who had joined the dance had run off, the staff did not know who were the other perpetrators. However they knew the two eva pilots had started the whole commotion and so were not really interested in them anyway. Asuka fought desperately to hold in her laughter as the principal told them off for 'disrespectful behaviour,' 'indecent exposure' and 'shouting profanities,' while poor Shinji was blushing madly.

The two eva pilots hadn't bothered arguing with him, since half the school saw them anyway and just nodded at everything he had said. This annoyed the principal to no end as it looked like they weren't even listening to him. The principal also mentioned how he was disappointed with Asuka, after she had shown good community service to ruin it with the offensive display. After the lecture the principal had decided to call Misato, as it seemed to him that it had no effect on the two teens.

The man looked down at them smiling, as if he had finally created the desired effect. The two teens however decided to remain silent, even though they were bursting to talk to each other. Shinji laid back and looked up at the ceiling. Above them, a lone fan spun slowly. It did little to relieve them of the hot temperature in the room however. The window in the office was closed, though one could still see the view of the outside play area. A few certificates and such were posted on the walls, showing the 'excellence' of the principal.

The desk, which the head of the school sat at, looked quite similar to Gendo's. On the desk were some stationery, paper, a fax machine with phone and a computer. The principal's chair was quite large and set with cushions, even on the arms. It had the ability to rotate and to roll across the floor. The three people sat and waited in silence until the Major decided to arrive. Fortunately this didn't take long as the door to the principal's office opened breaking the awkward silence. Misato entered through the doorway and closed the door behind her. She turned to face the principal with her typical professional expression as the principal stood up.

"What seems to be the problem sir?" Misato asked.

"Please have a seat Miss Katsuragi," said the principal offering her a seat next to the two eva pilots.

The Major sat down and the principal followed suit. The man turned to face Misato.

"These two children were caught in the act-" the principal started.

"Of sexual intercourse?" asked Misato interrupting him, betraying no emotion.

Both eva pilots fell off their chairs, while the principal looked at her shocked.

"No, nothing of that sort" said the principal quickly. "Mr. Ikari was singing profanities in the middle of the courtyard out the front of the school at lunch and was wearing his school uniform incorrectly"

"And Asuka?" Misato asked, face unchanging.

"She was informing the whole school of the event, gathering people to watch and causing an unnecessary commotion. The girl acted as his accomplice and so is also responsible"

"Specifically what exactly was Mr. Ikari shouting and how was his wearing of his uniform incorrect?" asked Misato still emotionless.

"He was not wearing his pants and I personally heard him shout out something along the lines of 'I am Asuka's bitch'," he said quietly.

Misato's eyebrow twitched momentarily. "Excuse me for a moment" the Major said standing up and walking out of the room. A few seconds after the door was closed, laughter could be heard in the hallway. Asuka couldn't help snickering quietly but soon stopped with the look the principal gave her. Shinji just wanted to bury himself under the floor he was so humiliated. He had been forced to do this by Asuka and then she even made it look like he was the one that was the main perpetrator.

Misato came back into the room with the same expressionless face as before and sat back down.

"I apologise for the delay," Misato said.

"No problem" replied the principal.

"I will deal with my two charges from here on, you can give them any punishment for school as you see fit. If you don't mind I would like to take these two home for some disciplinary action"

"Not at all" said the principal standing up.

The trio exited the office after bowing to the principal and closed the door behind them. Immediately Misato and Asuka burst out laughing. Asuka was laughing so hard she was crying. Shinji just hung his head down and tuned them out, sick of the embarrassment. After the two girls had calmed Misato looked over at Asuka.

"Accomplice my ass. I know you're the mastermind behind this Asuka, there's no way Shinji would do that to himself" said Misato to Asuka.

"And if I am?" asked Asuka.

"You're in a whole lot of trouble. Though I am wondering how you got Shinji to do err…his performance"

"Let's just say he lost a bet"

"You can't even lay off him when you're together?" Misato asked.

"I don't know what you mean, even just by letting him kiss me I am already treating him better" Asuka said smugly.

Misato just shook her head in disbelief. She looked over at the sullen boy. "You wanna say anything Shinji?" she asked.

"I want to forget about this forever" he replied.

"Cheer up Shinji, I'm sure it wasn't that bad. Besides you'll have a story to tell your children" Misato said.

"Children?" Asuka asked confused.

"You're not barren Asuka, in fact you're quite fertile" replied Misato.

"I don't want to have children!" she shouted.

"And Shinji agrees to it?" asked Misato.

"Of course! Shinji wouldn't want-" Asuka started.

"You never discussed it with me Asuka!" shouted Shinji cutting her off. "As a matter of fact I actually want to have children. Of course I know it's still early to have that discussion but don't assume anything!" he said angrily.

Asuka was a little startled at his outburst and felt a little guilty. A short silence followed until Misato broke it.

"By the way Asuka, don't think I forgot about this morning's incident"

"What are you talking about?" Asuka said innocently.

"The whole scene in the bedroom. What the hell where you two doing in bed together anyway?" Misato asked.

"Is that why you thought we had sex in school?" asked Asuka.

"Stop evading the question Asuka and don't you dare blame Shinji, I _know_ this is your doing" said Misato starting to grow annoyed.

"I lost a bet and had to sleep with him in the same bed" Asuka stated.

"I thought you said Shinji lost the bet?" asked Misato confused.

"We both lost" Asuka said simply.

Misato was a little puzzled, but decided not to pursue it. It was obvious the two teens did not have sex last night. However the Major was still annoyed at the morning's incident.

"What about this morning? I clearly saw Shinji fondling your breast"

"Misato it's obvious you came home drunk and collapsed on the floor. Whatever you imagined happening in the morning was just a fantasy"

"Then how did I know you two were both sleeping in Shinji's room?"

"Well perhaps your inebriation just warped your perception"

"I didn't go drinking last night anyway! Honest to god Asuka, I'm really getting sick of this. Not to mention how you're taking advantage of poor Shinji and…and…" she said noticing the said person was missing.

Both girls stopped and looked around and indeed noticed the boy was nowhere near them. A scowl formed on Asuka face but inside she was actually worried about the boy, especially considering his state of mind.

"Look what you've done Misato, you distracted me so much I didn't notice him go" said Asuka irritated.

"You are so ridiculous Asuka!" Misato shouted. The Major sighed and calmed herself. "Look let's just go to the apartment, he probably went on ahead"

The redhead nodded not saying a word.

"You know Asuka, it's not really my place to say but maybe you could be a fraction nicer to him. At least show him you are his"

"Shutup Misato" said Asuka annoyed.

The two girls continued on in silence to their apartment. The two females grew anxious as they approached their residence. Despite her external behaviour, the redhead was really hoping that he just went on ahead. Taking the stairs the two girls rushed to their door, unlocked it and opened it. Upon opening the door a nice aroma wafted to them from the kitchen. Asuka walked on ahead of Misato to the kitchen to see Shinji happily making dinner. The redhead couldn't help a smile forming on her face as she saw him. Misato went to sit down at the dining table, deciding that the two should sort out things with each other.

The young girl snuck up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. The young boy almost jumped from the surprise. Shinji shivered as she moved her mouth down to nuzzle his neck. She bit down softly on his shoulder and moved her hand under his shirt to tickle his stomach. The male eva pilot sighed, slightly annoyed that she was doing it while he was trying to cook. 'Trust Asuka to be willing when I'm not' he thought. Shinji stopped what he was doing and turned to face her.

"Why did you go ahead without telling us you baka?" asked Asuka irritated.

"You two were so involved with your conversation and I was getting embarrassed so I decided to go ahead and make dinner" Shinji replied.

"You retard, what are we supposed to think? Next time just say you're going on ahead honestly," she said turning around and walking away.

"Were you serious about not wanting children?" asked Shinji.

The redhead halted but refused to turn around and look at him. "Yes I was" she replied.

"Why?" was all he asked.

"Because I don't want to be fat for nine months and then have to push a baby out of my vagina"

"Come on Asuka, I'll still think you're beautiful no matter how fat you are and you aren't fat for the whole nine months anyway. Besides wouldn't giving birth to a child be the ultimate challenge for a woman, the ultimate challenge for the Great Asuka?"

Asuka smiled a little, he knew her so well. "I don't want my children to go through what we went through," she said honestly.

Shinji placed a hand on her shoulder. "I promised that I would never leave you, our children will always have a mother and father. We know the mistakes our parents made and the ones that we made as well. We can learn to be good parents," he said.

Asuka resisted the urge to cry. She couldn't believe how he was always able to penetrate her defenses, how he always sounded so sincere.

"Ok enough with the sappy crap, I'll consider it alright?" she said.

"That's all I ask," said Shinji happily before returning to his cooking.

The young girl returned to the dining room and sat down at the table where Misato was still sitting. The Major looked up at the redhead questioningly.

"Is he ok?" Misato asked.

The redhead just nodded. The two females then returned to silence as they sat, patiently waiting for their meal to be ready. Their wait didn't last long as Shinji soon entered the dining room and placed their meals down on the table before sitting down himself. The three happily dug into their meals. Shinji and Asuka constantly looked up to steal a glance at the other; funnily enough the other was always looking down when the other looked up. Misato followed her charge's actions with a little amusement; it looked like a scene from a movie.

The Major finished her meal first and stood up. She went over to the kitchen and opened the fridge to take out a beer. Looking at the clock she noticed it was already in the afternoon, though since lunch at their school started after midday and she picked them up after lunch it wasn't much of a surprise. Misato would have to go back to Nerv soon and she was quite annoyed that she had spent most of her free time unconscious on the floor. However there wasn't anything she could do about it and she couldn't really punish either of her charges, for all she knew perhaps she was just daydreaming.

Returning to the dining room, she caught Asuka taking some of Shinji's food off his plate. Evidently the redhead had finished before the boy and was helping herself to a portion of his meal. The male eva pilot pulled his plate away as she begun taking more than he agreed to and a scowl formed on the young girl's face.

"If I let you take anymore you'll eat all of it" he remarked.

"But I'm hungry and you eat so slow" Asuka replied.

"Deal with it" he said sticking his tongue out at her.

The female eva pilot mumbled something under her breath and then stood up. Misato decided to stay back and see what would happen. The redhead made her way over to Shinji and sat down on his lap. The young boy looked up at her curiously. The young girl smiled cheekily and leaned forward giving a generous view of her cleavage. Shinji couldn't help his eyes looking down at her ample bosom. Asuka took advantage of his attention change and placed more of Shinji's food onto her plate. Misato just shook her head at the sight.

The young girl then turned her head back to look down at him when Shinji looked up again. She leaned her head forward towards his, her eyes locked onto his. Then mischievously, the redhead pulled back and got off Shinji's lap leaving the boy utterly confused. She returned to her seat and resumed her meal. The young boy looked down and sighed as he noticed she had 'borrowed' more of his meal. Shinji continued to eat his now very small meal and still only just managed to beat Asuka. Of course both teens had forgotten they still had their uneaten lunches in Shinji's bag.

The two teens stood up. Instead of Shinji gathering the dishes as he usually did, he walked over to the young girl. Asuka began to move away as she wanted to toy with him. Misato soon stepped in with a devious grin on her face. 'Oh no you don't' she thought. Placing her foot out the redhead tripped over the Major while she was walking backwards and instinctively grabbed onto Shinji and pulled him down with her. Misato suppressed the urge to snicker and walked off whistling innocently. The redhead scowled at Misato as she walked off.

"Hey guess what Asuka?" said Shinji grinning.

"What?" she replied grumpily.

"I'm your derivative, because I'm the tangent to your curves!"

There was total silence for a moment before a loud smack resonated throughout the whole house.

"I'll _never_ let you be the tangent to my curves _ever_ again if you say something so stupid again!" she shouted.

The young boy smiled sheepishly as he rubbed his cheek.

"Since when did you know anything about maths?" asked Asuka.

"I listened to the teacher today, surprisingly he doesn't just talk about second impact all the time"

"Who would have thought?" Asuka said sarcastically.

"I have to go to Nerv now!" Misato shouted. "Please behave yourselves and don't make a mess," she said teasingly.

The door closed before Asuka could shout out a retort. "Get off me already!" she yelled at the boy still on top of her, attempting to push him off.

The young boy did not budge and closed the distance between their lips instead, finishing what she had started. The redhead gave in and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Shinji's tongue probed around Asuka's lips asking for entry, which was soon granted as he slipped his tongue into her mouth. The young girl moaned as his tongue explored her mouth and played with her tongue. They could both taste remnants of their meal in each other's mouths.

After a long passionate exchange, the two parted. A trail of saliva formed between them, soon acted upon by gravity as it dropped onto Asuka's face. She wiped it off with her hand and Shinji moved his mouth down to her neck as he began to nuzzle her. The redhead jolted in surprise as she felt Shinji's finger make contact with her most sensitive region through her panties.

"What are you doing Shinji?" she asked.

"Come on Asuka we're all alone now, I really want to do this"

"What if I don't want to?" she said.

"I know you want to, stop resisting just because _I_ want to"

"It doesn't matter what you think, if I say no it means no"

"Can't you do something for me for once?"

"…_At least show him you are his"_

Sex, the sign of ultimate trust between two lovers. Where you give yourself completely to the other and vice versa. It was very similar to submission and thus difficult for Asuka to do. But Asuka trusted him completely; he had always shown loyalty to her, had always come back to her and had never loved another. She was his as much as he was hers and besides Asuka herself too had growing desires from all the sexual tension that had been building up for a while. 'Misato's right in a way, I really should show him that I love him' she thought.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt Shinji's finger continue its work. The young girl pushed off the boy and stood up. Shinji followed suit and looked at her questioningly.

"This doesn't entitle you to any special treatment from me, furthermore you are not to brag about it to anyone. If I hear _anything_ along the lines of 'Shinji tamed the red demon in bed,' you won't breathe another second got it?" she said.

"I get it," replied Shinji rolling his eyes.

The young girl looked at the boy full of passion, having now agreed to it she could release all the pent up tension inside her. She grabbed the young boy, quickly pushing him up against a wall and kissing him fiercely. The redhead hastily moved her hands down to the buckle of Shinji's belt and began undoing it.

'She's taking control fast! This is not good I can't get her aroused or my plan won't work' Shinji thought.

Under the passionate onslaught, the boy managed to reach under the girl's skirt and pull her panties down, exposing her most sensitive region to attack. Asuka moaned in approval of Shinji's actions. The redhead had already undone Shinji's belt and pants and was pulling them down, well more like wrenching them down. The young boy was amazed at the fiery redhead's fervor. 'She's acting like she's never had sex before, well actually that makes sense because she believes she hasn't' he thought.

Asuka had now stopped kissing the boy on the lips and moved down to his neck. She was now pulling down his boxers, revealing his already erect cock. The young girl paused to look down at it and smirked.

'Ok I better take control now, before I lose it' Shinji thought.

The young boy managed to push the girl off him, stopping her actions. The redhead looked at him absolutely confused. Finally relieved of the assault, Shinji was able to calm himself down and think clearly. It was time to use his plan; there was no other chance. He took advantage of Asuka's confusion and grabbed her, turning her around and pinning her against the wall as he had just been. She just looked at him curiously.

"What's the big deal?" she asked.

The male eva pilot just smiled and hastily moved his cock into position under her vagina. Asuka realised what he was doing and her eyes grew wide.

"Wait-ahhhhhh!" she cried as he pushed his cock up her tight canal as hard as he could.

'Success!' Shinji thought.

'Damn that hurt!' Asuka thought.

"Are you ok Asuka?" Shinji asked concerned.

"What the hell was that? I knew you'd be inexperienced but that was completely stupid! I had almost no lubrication whatsoever, you made that hurt way more than it should have!" she replied angrily.

"The Great Asuka can handle anything, what's a little momentary pain going to do?" he said mockingly.

"Oh ha, very funny third child. You get that cock out of me right now before I rip it off myself!" she shouted at him.

Shinji complied almost instantaneously, removing his member from her lovely warm and tight pussy. The redhead looked up at him glaring. The young boy just looked back at her sheepishly.

"Not the must graceful way to lose my virginity, but it doesn't matter it's already done. Luckily for you the pain has already subsided, if you try something like that again it will be years before we have sex again," she threatened.

"Understood" he said relieved.

Now that she believed she had lost her virginity there was nothing holding the boy back anymore. Grinning at her Shinji began his assault on the one he loved. First off he quickly began to pull off her shirt. Taking off her shirt revealed her bare skin, which was nice and smooth. The young boy kissed her passionately and roved his hands all over her. Running his hands up and down her back was making her shiver. Shinji would tickle her belly button and fondle her breasts through the soft fabric of her bra making her moan impatiently.

The redhead was surprised at the sudden change in Shinji's behaviour, he had changed from submissive to aggressive so fast. It was almost like he was pretending to be inexperienced. Asuka wanted to be the dominant one, but found herself unable to move from her restrained position against the wall. She struggled, but Shinji was stronger and she was slowly losing her strength with all his physical affection. The constant rubbing of his erect cock against her thigh wasn't helping.

Shinji soon moved his hands behind her back to unhook her bra. Letting the bra fall to the ground exposed her breasts. Asuka blushed, a little self-conscious at exposing herself to him. The young boy turned the attention of his mouth onto her newly exposed bosom. The redhead gasped as she felt his mouth enclose onto her erect nipple. Shinji didn't forget to give her other breast attention as he moved one hand over and pinched her other nipple gently. The young girl was deeply aroused having 'never' experienced anything like this. She moaned erratically as his tongue slid around her sensitive bud and his hand fondled her other breast softly whilst occasionally flicking her nipple.

Shinji's remaining hand was resting on her buttocks fondling her cheeks softly. Asuka was still struggling against the boy's ministrations but was also participating in the exchange. The redhead was slowly unbuttoning his shirt with one hand and running her other hand through his hair. The young boy then moved his mouth onto her other breast and resumed his previous actions. Asuka could feel herself getting wet; she was so aroused she just wanted to throw herself onto his cock. She couldn't understand how Shinji kept so calm and in control of himself. He was taking his time with everything and teasing her as much as he could.

"Come on Shinji! I just want to fuck already, mmmm!" she cried out impatiently.

The young boy bit down on her nipple making her squeal and then looked up at her smirking.

"Haven't you ever heard of foreplay?" he asked.

"You're taking it to the extreme! For god's sake I don't care if it's gonna hurt or if you'll cum before me, I just want your cock inside me!"

Shinji chuckled at her behaviour; her impatience together with always getting what she wanted was making her unable to restrain herself. The young boy decided maybe he should speed things up a little for her sake. Moving off her he found his shirt was unbuttoned and took it off easily, leaving him completely naked. The redhead eyed him, checking out his naked body. He looked pretty scrawny to her, though his cock was definitely a generous size.

Shinji then proceeded to take off Asuka's skirt, it being the last article of clothing still on her. Removing her skirt exposed her body fully. The young boy then looked at Asuka's naked body, finally being able to have a good long look at her. Again Asuka blushed at her exposure and found it strange that Shinji hadn't minded at all when he was exposed. But she decided she would allow him a look anyway. Her breasts were covered with some saliva making them glisten a little. Her vagina was quite moist and her clit was poking out, clearly showing her excitement.

The young boy then moved towards Asuka and placed his lips on hers once again. Wrapping his arms around her he pulled her closer, her breasts pressing up against him nicely. Kissing each other he moved them towards his room. Of course Asuka kept turning them around as they came nearer to his room; she wanted to be on top when they got to the bed. Shinji joined in the game and soon an interesting sight of a naked girl and boy twirling around was seen.

Approaching the bed both refused to be the one on the bottom as they continuously fought to get the other onto the bed first. Seeing no other solution, Shinji picked up the struggling girl and got onto the bed. Throwing her down onto the bed he quickly got on top of her, making her unable to get up again. The redhead scowled at him. Asuka thought that Shinji would be submissive in bed as he was usually, but she was wrong. It would be difficult to satisfy two dominant people in bed unless one submits to the other. The redhead really wanted to make love and decided to give in this time; it's not like anyone else would know, just her and Shinji.

The young boy then moved his face down towards hers and resumed their kissing. Asuka put her arms around his neck keeping him there. Shinji slowly moved one hand down her body starting from her breast. He moved painfully slow, approaching her stomach next. Tickling her stomach, the redhead soon grew tired of his games and grunted in irritation. Shinji resumed the movement of his hand down her body soon arriving at the mound of red hair above her vagina. Finally he reached her moist slit and ran his finger up and down it making the redhead quiver.

The redhead jumped as his finger just brushed her clitoris. Asuka was growing tired of his teasing and parted. She moved her hand down to his chest and pinched his nipple, hard.

"Oow!" cried Shinji.

"Serves you right you bastard! Here you have the most gorgeous girl naked in bed with you and you keep her waiting. I would have preferred you continued the intercourse earlier than this slow torture!" she shouted aggravated.

"If I can manage, surely the Great Asuka can-"

"Don't even start that! I don't care if I can handle it, I want it now so you'll give it to-mmm oh god!" she moaned as he inserted a finger into her pussy.

She was quite wet and she wasn't actually a virgin so his finger slipped in quite easily. He began to move his finger in and out, probing around and touching her most sensitive spots. The young boy was amazed he still remembered her completely. At this stage Asuka was completely under his control, of course he had the unfair advantage of knowing exactly what she liked and where she liked it. Shinji withdrew his finger and began to stimulate her erect clit. The young girl cried out in pleasure as he gently rubbed her little nub, increasing the friction slowly.

Asuka was squirming in pleasure as he began to gently pinch her button. He returned his finger inside her warm, wet and sticky pussy adding another one. Shinji then rubbed her clitoris with his thumb whilst thrusting his fingers inside her vagina. He added a third finger to her pussy and increased his attack viciously. Asuka could not hold herself back anymore and let out a scream of pleasure as she climaxed. Her vagina drenched Shinji's hand in her juices. After the boy removed his hand, the young girl had gone down from her orgasm and was breathing heavily, sweat covering her entire body.

Shinji didn't give her a chance to recover and soon moved his mouth down onto her soaking pussy. Unable to believe what she was feeling the redhead looked down with wide eyes and saw Shinji's head in between her legs. She moaned loudly as his tongue delved inside her lower lips. Asuka bucked her hips trying to get him in deeper, practically shoving her cunt into his face. The young boy held her legs in place with his arms as he continued to lick and drink her delicious juices and insert his tongue inside her, exploring her.

Deciding he had built her up enough the young boy moved away from her pussy and Asuka moaned in protest.

"Relax Asuka, I want my pleasure as well," he said positioning his cock at the entrance to her vagina.

Asuka stuck her tongue out at him and Shinji began to tease her by moving his cock up and down her slit driving her mad. Adrenalin pumped full throughout Asuka's body as she anxiously waited the penetration in anticipation. The young girl was slightly nervous; her body was shaking slightly and her heart pumping fast. It seemed like one of the longest waits Asuka ever had before Shinji plunged his cock into her hot, wet pussy. It was so lubricated his cock slipped inside quite easily. The redhead let out a cry of pleasure at the penetration; she was finally getting what she wanted. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his back pulling him as close to her as possible.

Shinji had forgotten how good her tight pussy felt and groaned in pleasure at the warm embrace his cock was feeling. The young boy increased his pace as Asuka moaned and cried out in time with his thrusts, having 'never' experienced such an intense pleasure like this before. The redhead would buck her hips when he thrust into her, trying to get him in as deep as possible. The expression on Asuka's face, that of mad passion, aroused Shinji greatly as she was giving herself to him fully.

Perspiration covered the two teens as they made love. Shinji was grunting in exertion while Asuka moaned with every thrust. The young boy was fucking her so hard she was left breathless and unable to speak. However Shinji could not hold himself back any longer, everything she did was so erotic and he found himself cumming much sooner than usual. Plunging his cock in as hard and deep as possible he released his seed inside her. Semen coated her inner walls and this brought Asuka over the edge as she screamed out Shinji's name in orgasm.

Asuka's vaginal walls clamped down on his cock, milking him of all he was worth. The young girl dug her nails into his back as she felt wave after wave of pleasure released as she orgasmed fiercely. After their orgasms died down Shinji collapsed on top of Asuka, both of them were panting heavily. The young boy could go on, but he knew since it was Asuka's 'first' time she probably couldn't handle much more so he rolled off her and laid down on the bed. When their breathing returned to normal, the redhead spoke up.

"You know I have admit you weren't half bad Shinji. You caught me by surprise, since I thought you'd be inexperienced especially with the first thing you did. But you must have borrowed a few movies from Kensuke or something, because that was too good for your first time" Asuka remarked.

"I may have learnt a few tips from them over the course of our friendship" Shinji said simply.

"Uh-huh" she said. The redhead then moved on top of the young boy. "I let you be in control this time, just consider this session as a gift. Next time I'll be in charge. And don't even think about trying to use cheap methods like picking me up and restraining me, because I will stop it right there"

"Come on Asuka, you enjoyed it. What's the harm in letting me be control in bed? You're in charge all day long as well, so what's the big deal?" he asked.

"It's a massive deal, I bow down to no one!" she said grinning.

Shinji just rolled his eyes at her and laid his head back. Asuka planted a deep kiss on his lips and began tracing circles on his chest. The redhead parted and yawned tiredly.

"You wanna go to sleep now?" asked Shinji.

"I guess so, you look so tired after all Shinji" she said smirking.

The young boy sighed and Asuka got off him. The two teens got under the covers and Shinji wrapped his arms around the girl's waist. Both eva pilots were finally satisfied of their sexual desires for the moment and were both content with each other's presence. Asuka smiled a genuine smile of joy, as they lay there together, completely naked, skin-to-skin, in each other's warmth.

"What if Misato finds us like this?" Shinji asked.

"So what if she does? I couldn't care less if she didn't approve, it would be like listening to a murderer say not to kill people"

"But we shouldn't have sex before marriage" said Shinji jokingly.

"Well I know it's important not to have sex before marriage. All that rubbish about marrying someone and then finding out he isn't good in bed is so stupid. The more important thing in a relationship is whether you love that person or not. If you have sex before marriage you tend to like the person because of the sex not because of the person. It also shows you can love the person without having sex"

"Mmm but Asuka we aren't married yet" Shinji replied.

"Yeah well, I already know that you love me and I can't wait till marriage to have sex" she said.

"So if I got castrated you would stay with me?" Shinji asked.

"Of course. And would you stay with me if I got saggy tits, went bald and lost one eye?" she asked chuckling.

"Well that would certainly be interesting, but I would" he replied.

"And that's what sex before marriage undermines, the ability to love no matter what, you understand now?"

"Does that mean we won't have anymore sex till we're married?" asked Shinji a little worried.

"You prove my point exactly," said Asuka rolling her eyes.

Shinji yawned. "Well then goodnight Asuka" he said.

"Goodnight Shinji"

The two lovers drifted off to sleep content and happy. Whatever troubles would happen in the future, they would face them together…

* * *

End Notes: Mmm Darknemo you liked that sex better than previous? I somehow think you're still going to say it was bad but better than previous lol. Well regardless I would love to hear your review of this chapter.

For all those who didn't understand the maths joke I will explain it. It is a little play on words with some math concepts. First of all a curve is referring to a line that is curved drawn on a graph, a tangent is a line that only touches a curve once. To find the tangent of a curve you derive the equation of the curve and hence the derivative is used to find the tangent. When Shinji says he's the tangent to her curves his referring to a woman's curves. A lame joke but it's meant to be.

Yay Shinji and Asuka finally had sex and without having to reveal the past, isn't Shinji just lucky. Well not really when you consider what he had to do at school lol. Ah well all my loyal readers please review as always I would love your input, was the wait worth it :P?


	21. Is This the End?

Author's Notes: Sorry for the long wait this time, but there were two reasons. As you already know I'm at uni, and was dumped with a shitload of assignments . You should be grateful I'm trying my best to get this story updated :P. The second reason is well this chapter was a very strange one to write. I had originally had this as the last chapter to finish this story, however I found it leaving too much unexplained and so I decided to stop being lazy and decided to do more chapters. So there will probably be only one or two more chapters after this. This chapter has been rewritten and the ending has been removed (obviously since we aren't ending it here).

To AsukaIkari, yeah actually kind of forgot about the play, this might be addressed in a future chapter or not depending on the importance. To DarkNemo as expected you always come up with something to complain about (I swear you are very good at finding problems). Good that you said my lemon was better, that at least means I'm improving. About your complaint about Shinji's stupid willingness to go along with the bet, first off the reason wasn't one of those you listed, this poor little boy still feels guilty about raping her and would consider it fair in his mind, besides he was too happy with having Asuka back with him to be manipulative. Well with the loss of virginity well, she was kind of being too distracted to notice and going to sleep she will probably forget, although I know that's not a good enough excuse :P. To Itansha I am doing a computer science so I'm screwed lol. To Justanotherguyathiscomputer anything further to add could be difficult with the remaining chapters pretty much planned out already, as I said with AsukaIkari this might be addressed in a future chapter. To SolidJ, unbelievable that I got a soldier in Iraq reading my story, that's a new one. About 'exploring that area later' well I thought anal was going to be too strong no matter how done, and Asuka's character would just not allow it so it was scratched. When you reviewed you said you had 12 months to go so I suppose you'll still get to read this, sorry for making you wait, please don't shoot me :P. For all of you new readers asking about Asuka's memory, I've already been through that and I seriously don't want to answer it again, I think I answered it in the author's notes of chapter 15. To Xolodus thanks for reviewing I thought I had lost you as a reader but thankfully it isn't so and yet again I say sorry for making you wait. To Vladimir, with this story I try to keep the anime feel to it, therefore the ridiculous amounts of times Shinji gets slapped by Asuka remains.

This chapter is short, but it's only the first part so it's meant to be, read and find out what happens this time.

* * *

Chapter 21: Is This the End?

It was in the dead of the night. The sky was completely dark, save for the bright light shining off the moon. There were no clouds in the sky and all seemed quiet. Tokyo-3 was currently still, the usually busy city seemingly taking a far delayed rest. However inside Nerv Headquarters it was bustling with activity. Nerv was currently preparing as best it could for the oncoming invasion.

Just a few hours previously a remote Nerv outpost, who's communication system was still under repair, sent out a distress signal, which was cut off after 1.87 seconds. The Magi predicted there was a 90 percent chance of an error occurring, but Commander Ikari and Major Katsuragi did not want to take that chance. The pilots were needed at the eva cages, but the elevator system had 'coincidentally' collapsed. They didn't have time to check out if there was a traitor amongst Nerv and continued making preparations. The pilots weren't picking up their cell phones and Misato hoped that it wasn't because something had happened to them. The woman in question was currently making her way up to the surface by foot.

It was very lucky that Commander Ikari had issued a citywide order for all civilians to evacuate Tokyo-3 just a few hours earlier. It was unlucky that all Section 2 agents watching the two children were 'called off duty' as the Major wished to give them some privacy. It was even unluckier that all Nerv personnel had become stuck inside the base due to the entire elevator and car elevator system collapsing, making the only way possible to reach the surface being by ladder. Some Nerv technicians were at work on the only salvageable elevator left, however it would take some time before it was operational again. Ritsuko and the bridge bunnies were at their posts ready for an attack on their computer system and everyone had been given a firearm. Everyone was tense and paranoid, expecting an attack at any time. The main fear fueling their paranoia was being taken by surprise.

Of course the main worry was that if Seele were launching an attack, they would have gotten to the children by now. With this in mind the Major only quickened her pace.

* * *

The two eva pilots were sleeping soundlessly in Shinji's bed. Shinji had his arms around the redhead and his head was resting just above her shoulder. The blanket had been pulled up such that the pilot's legs could be seen splayed across the bed. Both were completely unaware as to what was happening at the moment. The JSSDF had indeed dispatched troops to finish Nerv, using the cover of night to stealthily make their way through Tokyo-3. They had been given orders to kill the pilots on sight and as such a couple of troops had head over to their apartment to check if they were there.

The balcony door in Shinji's room was wide open, allowing a cool breeze in. By now several soldiers had arrived at the pilot's apartment. The soldiers approached the house and fortunately for the pilots one of them tripped on a piece of debris. The young boy stirred, being interrupted from his sleep by the noise. Shinji let out a sigh and then gently removed his arms from the redhead. He sat up and wiped his eyes as he looked around the room groggily wondering what had woken him up at this time of the night. Shinji looked down at the sleeping form of the female eva pilot, who was smiling serenely. Though with the cool breeze blowing across her now unprotected bare back, she began to shiver a little. The redhead unconsciously moved her arm across to try and grab her lost heat source. Shinji couldn't help smiling at the young girl's actions; she seemed so innocent when she was asleep.

The young boy got out of bed deciding he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep and covered Asuka up with the blanket. The girl sighed contentedly and Shinji bent down and kissed her on the forehead. The room was almost completely dark, with the only light coming from the balcony, which shone down on his bed, giving an almost angelic glow to the female eva pilot. The male eva pilot walked over to his balcony to look out into the night. The sky was completely bare save for the moon and some stars, but most strangely the night was extremely quiet, he couldn't even hear the sounds of cars driving past. The wind was chilly and the boy was completely naked, so he couldn't help shaking a little.

Wondering about the lack of any noise Shinji looked down at the streets and could just make out the outlines of people standing out the front of their apartment in the dark. One of them shifted position and the moon reflected off one of their guns. Instantly Shinji felt that something was wrong. The men didn't look like Section 2 and also if Section 2 were guarding them, they usually kept out of sight.

Fear coursed through his body, he suspected something was happening. Adrenalin rushed through him as he quietly and swiftly made it back inside his room. He quickly shook Asuka awake covering her mouth so she wouldn't speak. The young girl stirred a little and made a few annoyed noises that were muffled by Shinji's hand. Finally she opened her eyes and looked up at him questioningly.

"Don't make any noise Asuka, just get out of bed and fix up the sheets and blankets," Shinji whispered removing his hand from her mouth.

"What? But why?" she whispered back.

"Just do it" he whispered sternly.

A little confused the redhead got out of bed and began to make it. She had no idea as to what was happening but Shinji's face was quite serious and she decided it would be better not to ask him questions now. Shinji quickly exited his room and made his way to the living room. The young boy decided the best approach was to somehow make contact with Misato and remembered he had his cell phone in his bag. Not wanting to waste time, as the men from outside could already be outside their door, he just grabbed his bag, hurried back to his room and closed the door to find Asuka having already finished making his bed.

The redhead looked over at him and was about to say something when they heard a very quiet noise come from the front of their residence. It was almost inaudible, but the fact that the night was so quiet and the two eva pilot's senses were heightened they were able to determine it was definitely the sound of their front door opening. Asuka's eyes grew wide, wondering what was happening. The young boy began to panic, there was nowhere they could run, there was no escape. Shinji sweated heavily as he tried to think of something, any minute now the intruder could walk through the door.

Asuka watched as the boy began to panic and she grew worried. Despite not knowing what was happening she could guess that they needed to leave now. The young girl grabbed the boy by the arm and pulled him along. Not having any ideas the boy let himself be pulled along by Asuka.

The man entered Shinji's room quietly, holding his gun out in front. He scanned the room for any signs of life and found the room completely empty. The bed was made and it looked like no one had stayed in this room. However the man quickly spotted the open balcony door and moved towards it quietly. Holding his gun forward, ready to fire, he moved outside aiming his gun left and right but found no target. Looking around he saw no one and re-entered Shinji's room to go and check on Asuka's room next.

Both teens let out a sigh of relief as they heard the man move off. Only having a few minutes to hide, Asuka had taken Shinji outside and began to climb down the edge of the balcony. There were no footholds and so they had to climb down the diagonal edge using purely their upper body strength. Upon making it to the lower balcony they pressed their backs flat against the lower balcony door hoping that the man would not look down. With all the adrenalin pumping through them, their hearts racing and their heavy sweating they couldn't feel the cold, despite being utterly naked. Shinji was impressed at Asuka's quick thinking and was amazed they were able to climb down to the lower balcony without making any noise, even while carrying Shinji's bag.

The two eva pilots then turned around and opened the balcony door, fortunately finding it unlocked. The two were safe at the moment, however they now had another problem and that was the fact that there were still men outside guarding the exit to their apartment. Added to that, both were completely naked and needed to find some clothes. Asuka closed the balcony door behind her while Shinji opened the front pocket of his bag and took out his cell phone. He quickly put the phone on silent. Deciding that the man wouldn't be able to hear them in here, he scrolled through his contact numbers for Misato's and hit call.

* * *

Unable to locate the second and third children, the man spoke into his radio microphone.

"The pilots aren't here sir, I've searched all the rooms," the man said.

"How is that possible? We traced the second child's phone to that apartment; _she_ should at least be there" answered a voice in the man's headset.

"What about the third child's cell phone sir?"

"We were not able to trace it, perhaps it was turned off. Though it is strange that he would have his cell phone off"

Little did they know that Shinji's old mobile had been destroyed and that he had bought a new one. Of course with the tight security since Asuka's attempted assassination how could they have found out?

"Damn it! And we thought we had gotten the better of Nerv when they had called the pilots and gave us their location. They must be smarter than we thought sir"

"Continue searching their residence, they may be hiding"

"Affirmative sir"

* * *

Misato was currently still making her way to the surface by ladder when her cell phone had started ringing. The Major swore at having almost lost her bearings and fallen at the sound. Calming herself she took out her phone and looked at the caller ID. She was shocked to see Shinji's name displayed on her screen. She quickly hit the receive button and placed the phone to her ear.

"Shinji! Are you there? What happened to you? Are you ok? Is everything alright?" she said frantically.

"Yes Misato I'm alright for the moment, Asuka's here with me too. What's happening Misato? Some men arrived at our apartment and we had to hide. Though we're not out of the water yet, we're still trapped in the apartment building"

"Seele is launching their attack now! They wish to get rid of you pilots first so that we don't stand any chance against the invasion. Thank God you two are still alive, I'll come over to the apartment as soon as I can and see what I can do. You two stay put and hide"

"Understood, please hurry Misato"

"I will. Call me if something happens and be safe. Goodbye" she said and hung up.

The purple-haired woman turned her phone onto silent so she wouldn't jump in surprise again. Pocketing her phone she continued her journey. The dark and dank shaft seemed to stretch on endlessly as Misato cursed the commander for being 'unable' to send reinforcements with her. 'As if _all_ the personnel are needed, at least _one_ could have come with me' she thought. Shoving her thoughts aside she focused on the task at hand.

It would still be a while before she could reach the children, after all she still needed to get to the surface, then she had to make her way to the apartment and she had to take into account there were probably soldiers about and reinforcements soon to arrive as well, making it imperative that the children be escorted to Nerv swiftly.

* * *

"What the hell is going on?" Asuka whispered to Shinji after he hung up.

"Apparently Seele is launching their attack now, they sent some soldiers to deal with us first" Shinji replied.

"But what about Section 2? Or Nerv's military personnel? Surely they would have come to our aid by now" she asked confused.

"I didn't think to ask Misato," he said sounding stupid.

"Baka" she said whacking him over the head quietly.

"Maybe something's holding them up, after all Misato would have been here already by now if she knew we were in danger" he suggested.

"So what are we gonna do? I for one do not want to just sit around completely naked, just waiting for them to find us" Asuka said irritated.

"Well there's nothing we really can do. If we try to leave we'll be spotted and killed and Misato asked us to wait here" said Shinji sighing.

The redhead just rolled her eyes in annoyance. Waiting was one of the things she hated doing most.

"So how long is she gonna take anyway?" she asked impatiently.

"I didn't ask her that either" he said lamely.

"You are about as useful as a bucket full of holes I swear to god," she hissed angrily.

"It's ok to be scared Asuka" he said sincerely.

"As if I'm scared, I am just pissed off at this extreme disadvantage. I mean they just _had_ to attack after we had sex"

Shinji couldn't help smiling a little, even in such a situation she was still able to cheer up the mood.

"What are you smiling at you baka? This is all your fault after all" she said annoyed.

"My fault?" he asked confused.

"Yeah if you didn't beg me to sleep with you, we wouldn't be naked," she explained.

"I didn't beg! And who knows, it might come in handy. The soldiers might hesitate in shooting a naked woman"

"Yeah right" she said snorting.

The young boy looked around the room, noticing that it was almost entirely empty. He would have thought that someone would live here, but apparently it wasn't so. 'Well it looks like we can't find any clothes here then. And it's starting to get really cold again' he thought shivering.

"And I don't care how cold it gets, you are not feeling me up to get warm" Asuka said matter-of-factly.

"I didn't even say anything!" Shinji said defensively.

"But you were thinking it" she said glaring at him.

"Anyway Asuka, we probably shouldn't make so much noise, the soldiers might actually start to search the rest of the apartment"

"What time is it anyway?" she asked.

Shinji looked down at his cell phone to check the time and saw that it read 3:17 a.m.

"It's quarter past three," he answered.

"Geez I'm gonna have to catch up on some sleep after all this, not to mention I'm starving. They will pay for interrupting my comfortable sleep and depriving me of breakfast"

"Is that all you can think about at a time like this?" he said incredulously.

"One of us has to be brave and it sure as hell isn't you," she said smirking.

Shinji just rolled his eyes. Suddenly Asuka's stomach growled in hunger.

"Far out, my stomach is going to betray our position!" she said in disbelief.

Suddenly Shinji remembered something. The male eva pilot went back to his bag and rummaged through it to find two unopened bentos. That was unbelievably lucky of them to have forgotten to have lunch the day before. He took out the two bentos and handed one to Asuka. The young girl just looked at him surprised.

"You made lunch before we escaped?"

"I'm not that fast," he said chuckling, "no we never had our lunches yesterday and they were just sitting in the bag the whole time"

"Well what do you know, that stupid bet actually came in handy," she said grinning.

The young boy just shook his head. The two teens then silently opened their bentos and began to eat as quietly as they could. At every noise both would suddenly go still and both their heart rates would go up only for them to realise it was nothing and relax again. Despite her outward behaviour, Asuka understood the seriousness of their situation. Soon they had finished their meals and were satisfied of hunger for the moment. Occasionally they would hear some noises that sounded like someone moving about but whoever it was never came to their room. Both eva pilots thought it strange they didn't send more soldiers to investigate or help in the search.

The night was starting to become brighter as it was getting closer to dawn. The temperature was still cold, and with no clothes, Shinji had no choice but to cuddle with Asuka. She put up some resistance at first accusing him of being weak and just trying to get a feel, but she soon relented and the two eva pilots shared their body warmth. The two teens were getting worried, wondering when Misato would come, both knew that a soldier could come into the room at any moment and they didn't really stand a chance. Shinji thought it was best not to call her, just in case it was at a bad time.

* * *

The purple-haired woman had finally made it to the surface and was currently sneaking through Tokyo-3 towards her apartment. So far she had not seen any soldiers about, but still thought it was best to make sure she couldn't be seen just in case. The sun was rising and though it was still a little dark, it was definitely light enough for the Major to see clearly. It was so quiet and still it was unnerving. The entire city was empty and it took a while to get used to the complete inactivity.

Stopping for a moment Misato took in where she was, to work out how close she was. It would seem she was undecided about where she should go, the second place she needed to go to was closer, but she also promised Shinji and Asuka she would come to them as soon as possible. She shook her head and went off into the direction of Shinji and Asuka's apartment.

Traversing the empty roads and streets Misato soon came close to her apartment. It was then that she noticed a couple of soldiers patrolling the area. 'Damn this will be difficult, how can I possibly take out all these guards and get to the children?' she thought. The Major slowly and quietly made her way through alleys and side streets to find herself with a view of the front of her apartment. Hiding behind a dumpster she was able to see that there were two soldiers guarding the front entrance to the apartment and another two guards patrolling the building.

'Is this all they sent? Haven't they realised we know they are here by now? Maybe they still think we don't know what's happening…' she thought.

After watching the soldiers for some time, she worked out the best time to strike. When the two patrolling guards were on the other side of the building they would come back after 25 seconds, this would probably turn into 10 seconds if they ran. So she had 10 seconds to shoot the two guards guarding the entrance and run into the building for cover. Of course this was extremely risky because she didn't know who was inside the building, but she had no other choice.

The purple-haired woman brought up her gun and put the safety off. She pressed her back up against the wall and waited. 'Now!'

She quickly jumped out of her hiding spot and shot the first guard straight in the head, the second guard brought up his gun in surprise at the attack and fired. The Major ran straight for the building, the bullets from the soldier's automatic rifle missing her by millimetres as she fired at him, trying to land a shot. Finally scoring a hit she fired relentlessly at the man's chest and he went down. The purple-haired woman dived into the building just as machine gun fire broke out all around her; the two patrolling guards had returned.

Misato quickly got up and reloaded her handgun. She hid up against the wall aiming her gun at the entrance waiting for the two guards to come in. Of course she had forgotten all about the possible soldiers _inside_ the building and was surprised when she felt a bullet go right through her shoulder as she cried out in pain. Fortunately her reflexes saved her as she rolled under the staircase, momentarily providing her cover. Of course it was to no avail, as bullets could pierce wood the soldier starting firing into the staircase, showering splinters of wood all over Misato.

The other two guards were now standing at the entrance to the apartment, waiting to shoot her when she was forced to come out from under the staircase. The Major cried out again as a stray bullet just nicked her on her arm, she really had no way out of this situation. Just when she thought she was about to die, the firing from the soldier up above stopped and a loud thud followed by a few crashes could be heard. The two guards looked inside curiously to see an unconscious soldier rolling down the stairs.

Misato took the opportunity to fire at the guards earning a mortal blow on one of them, while wounding the other. The wounded soldier ran off and Misato got up quickly to chase after him. Exiting the building she saw the soldier's figure and quickly chased after him, firing.

"All chance at stealth has been compromised!" shouted the soldier into his mouthpiece. "We are under attack, all chance at stealth has been compromised, send in all units! Send in all uni-" his voice was cut off as Misato landed a shot on the unfortunate soldier.

The soldier fell to the ground dead, blood pouring out from the back of his head. The purple-haired woman sighed in relief and began to make her way back to the apartment. As the adrenalin wore off, the pain in her shoulder became more apparent and she collapsed to the floor from pain and blood loss. Blood stained her jacket as it trickled down from her wound. Clutching her injured shoulder, she quickly ripped off some of her skirt and wrapped it around her shoulder to stop the blood flowing. Willing herself to stand again she got up and walked the rest of the way to the apartment. Entering the apartment she saw the unconscious soldier still lying on the staircase. She aimed her gun down at him and shot him in the head, spraying some blood everywhere.

"M-Misato?" said Shinji trembling from seeing his guardian's actions. She had killed him so emotionlessly.

The Major looked up to see Shinji and Asuka, wearing their school uniform, standing behind the railing of the staircase with wide eyes. Misato sighed as she saw her two wards, she didn't like showing this side of her to them, but she had to kill him. She managed a smile as she looked up at them.

"Glad you two are safe" Misato said.

"It's about time Misato" said Asuka trying to sound annoyed, but failed miserably.

"Are you ok Misato?" asked Shinji concerned, noticing the wound on her shoulder.

"I'm ok, I just got shot in the shoulder, that's about it," she said pretending to be fine.

Both eva pilots saw straight through her lie, the makeshift bandage on her shoulder was soaked crimson and Misato looked exhausted and in pain. But both were glad that she had come to save them.

"So was it you two who stopped the man firing?" asked Misato.

Both teens nodded their head in confirmation.

"How? What happened? How did you survive?" Misato asked curious.

Asuka went on to explain to her guardian what had happened.

"_It's getting quite a lot lighter and Misato still hasn't come," said Asuka annoyed._

"_We should trust in her, she has never let us down before," replied Shinji._

"_I have a feeling our hiding spot won't last much-" she was cut off by the sound of firing._

_Both eva pilots jumped a little, but then realised the sound was coming from outside. Asuka rushed out the balcony door to see two dead guards at the entrance to the apartment and another two soldiers running over. The firing started again, this time inside the apartment and both Shinji and Asuka ran to the front door and opened it quietly. Looking out they saw no one, so they snuck out and looked down the staircase where the noise was coming from. They both saw the soldier one level below them firing down at the staircase. _

_They were confused at the man's actions, but they heard a woman cry out and knew that it must be Misato. _

"_We have to help her Shinji, I'll distract the soldier and you knock him out," said Asuka._

"_Are you crazy? You'll get killed" Shinji replied._

"_There's no way we can get up close to him without noticing, so I have to distract him"_

"_But-" he stopped as he saw the redhead begin to move and had no choice but to go through with the plan._

_Pressing his back flat against the wall, Shinji moved along it getting as close to the soldier as possible without him noticing. Asuka purposefully stubbed her toe on the railing of the staircase just opposite where the soldier was, crying out a little. The guard stopped firing down and looked up, bringing his gun up at Asuka, but hesitated at her state of undress. This moment of hesitation allowed Shinji to charge the soldier straight into the wall, his head whacking the brick wall with a loud thud. Shinji then pushed the unconscious soldier down the stairs._

_Both teens stayed where they were, wondering if they were too late, but a moment later shots rang out again and they heard a man cry out in pain. Both eva pilots looked down to see Misato run out of the apartment and two soldiers on the floor, one unconscious, one dead. The two teens then ran back up to their floor and opened their door, which they found unlocked. They then went to their rooms to change into some clothes. More shots were heard, but they stopped soon and the two eva pilots exited their front door and went down the stairs. _

_When Misato emerged through the front entrance the two teens stopped at the railing and peered down to see her shoot the unconscious soldier in the head._

"Wait a second, why was Asuka naked?" asked Misato. Of course she already knew from the report from Section 2 what had happened, but she wanted to see the redhead squirm.

"I had just had a shower," Asuka said interrupting Shinji before he could say anything.

"What at three in the morning?" asked Misato skeptically.

"How would you know when we were attacked?" Asuka asked.

"Shinji called me, remember?" Misato replied.

"Well I got up early and couldn't go to sleep. After I got out of the shower, Shinji rushed me out the balcony and we climbed down to the lower balcony and the soldier never found us as we hid there" Asuka explained.

"And your towel?" Misato asked.

"I put it back in our apartment"

Misato smiled cheekily at the redhead, just wanting to see her face when she revealed she already knew what happened. "I already know you two slept together last night, hell it's the reason there were no section 2 soldiers guarding you. So Shinji is she as good as she says?"

The young girl blushed slightly. "Don't say _anything_ Shinji" Asuka warned.

The young boy kept his mouth shut as Misato giggled at Asuka's face. Deciding she had had enough fun she stopped giggling. "Well it's not important, you two need to get back to Nerv immediately. Though we don't have any means of transport, so we have to go by foot" Misato said.

"Are you sure you can make it Misato?" asked Shinji worried.

"I'll be fine," the Major said smiling at the boy.

"Let's go already," said Asuka impatiently. The redhead had just about enough of waiting and was quite eager to get into her evangelion.

The three quickly exited the apartment and began to move. The two eva pilots followed Misato as she led them. Making their way through the abandoned city they were soon forced to stop as a certain redhead needed to go to the toilet.

"Can't you just hold it in Asuka?" asked Misato.

"I'm just about ready to burst, I have to go!" Asuka said jumping up and down.

"Just do it here, what if you get in trouble or we are suddenly attacked? It's only me and Misato," said Shinji.

"What have you got some golden shower fetish? You are not watching me pee!" she said storming off.

"That's not what I meant…" said Shinji trailing off as he realised she was already gone.

"So Shinji how'd last night go?" asked Misato teasingly.

"Well, it was…good" he said shyly, scratching his head.

"Glad to hear it, I guess all your hard work paid off, you know anyone else would have given up, how did you manage to keep going?"

"Well you know what they say, it takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, an hour to like someone and a day to love someone. But it takes a lifetime to forget someone"

"I know what you mean,"

The two stayed quiet until the redhead returned. Upon her return the trio started moving with Misato in the lead again. They soon started to veer away from Nerv and the two pilots were confused at Misato's directions. The two teens thought that perhaps maybe in her current state the Major was confusing the way to Nerv.

"Misato we're going the wrong way" said Asuka disdainfully.

"No we're not, we still have to-" they couldn't hear what she said next as jets flew over their heads.

"Shit! They're sending in reinforcements!" shouted Misato in horror.

Moments later bombs were dropped all over the city and the trio had to dive for cover. Hiding under some debris, the explosions missed them by sheer inches. However after a few minutes the bombing stopped and the trio got out from under the rubble to see what was going on. What they saw made all their stomachs sink. Hundreds of JSSDF soldiers were being deployed in Tokyo-3 ready to infiltrate Nerv.

"We don't have time, we must go straight to Nerv now!" shouted Misato as she picked up the two teens and pushed them forward.

The trio ran for their lives, adrenalin pumping through their veins and their breathing quick and panicked. Their hearts were pounding against their chests. They were soldiers coming from all directions, and they narrowly avoided getting hit by a rain of bullets. However the three roommates were tiring and the soldiers were getting a gain on them. There were only so many times they could lose the soldiers in the debris. Although the trio looked in dismay as they ran out onto a plaza, with absolutely no cover. All three of them ran as hard as they could, trying to make it to the building on the other side of the clearing.

Their hearts sank as they heard the soldiers shout an order to fire; they were done for and they were so close too. The sound of several machine guns firing went off and a hail of bullets were shot in the direction of the three escapees. In the final milliseconds of her life Misato moved behind the two children making sure to give them cover. She prayed that her two children would be safe just before she received a few hundred bullets in the back and fell to the ground dead, covered in bullet wounds. The two teens had run on and made it behind the building just in time.

The moment they had heard the sickening sound of bullets piercing flesh they knew Misato had died. Losing what strength he had, Shinji collapsed to the floor and began to cry. Misato was gone forever, he just couldn't take it; the people he cared about always got hurt. Sobs racked through his body as Asuka tried to get him up, but she couldn't find the strength anymore; Misato's death had impacted her just as strongly, besides they really had no chance of running from the soldiers anyway. They heard the soldier's footsteps coming closer and Asuka went down and embraced the young boy, tears flowing down her cheeks, both teens ready to die.

The soldier's footsteps were right next to them and both teens closed their eyes awaiting their death.

"I'm coming mama," she said quietly.

The soldiers stopped, aimed their guns and fired.

* * *

End Notes: Please for all you, don't ask questions like oh 'is blah blah blah, going to happen in the next chapter?' just be patient and find out. Yes I will receive a million flames for killing Misato, damn it was hard to do, I almost let her live, but I decided I shouldn't change my story from what it originally was.

I know the whole fight scene in the apartment was kind of dodgey, I mean some smart ass is going to say 'what if the stairs were made out of cement?' Yeah well in my story they're made out of wood!

Sorry DarkNemo I know you dislike short chapters, but I thought this was the best point to end this chapter.


	22. Survival

Author's Notes: Here we are the long awaited chapter 22. Sorry yet again for the long wait but as you know by now I go to uni now. As I much as I would like to put preference to my story, I can't just waste money for the uni fees and fail can I? Ah well. I am very pleased to see that my story has now over 200 reviews and I once again thank my loyal readers and reviewers for your time.

To 0756 thanks for saying I have balls lol, yes I usually write what I originally intend in a story despite some people's opinion (although even though people complain about things it turns out they respect me for it anyway). About who's dropped or going to be dropped or whatever can't really answer that question, just read and find out heh. To Tobi the good boy, yes well thank you for saying I made a depressing story that just means my story really is able to elicit emotions from my readers. Go ahead and enjoy this chapter too. To SolidJ, your questions will be answered by reading this chapter. To gainafreak1020 the issue in your question will be addressed but of course I won't say how because it would ruin it right? To Xolodous thanks yet again for your support and the reason I can deal with the madness is because I know what's going to happen :P. To KaoBloodText, no I haven't written any books I only just turned 18 this year , thanks for your praise and the reason Kaji didn't help is also explained in this chapter.

Well that's all to say at the moment, I hope you enjoy this chapter as you discovery what happens next!

* * *

Chapter 22: Survival

A man with a ponytail and unshaven beard entered the commander's office. Despite the battle that had erupted, the head of Nerv seemed extraordinarily calm. With almost nothing to counter-attack with, the pilots not having been returned yet and the other alternative not even guaranteed to work, the younger man could not understand the commander's lack of any emotion.

Approaching the desk the young man was given the commander's usual impassive stare. The spy stood there apprehensively before addressing Commander Ikari.

"Commander" Kaji said saluting.

"For what purpose have you arrived here?" the commander asked.

"The elevator has been repaired, I wish to go to the surface and help Major Misato Katsuragi in acquiring the pilots" the young man explained.

"Permission granted, provided that the task I appointed you is finished" the commander stated.

"Of course sir" said Kaji bowing.

The spy left the gloomy commander's office in a hurry, wishing to help Misato as he had originally wanted to.

* * *

In the rubble of the once proud Tokyo-3 the two eva pilots awaited their inevitable death. Both of them had tears flowing down their cheeks; their guardian had just sacrificed herself for them. Despite Asuka never giving up, she just couldn't find it within herself to leave the crying boy behind and chose rather to comfort him in their final moments.

"I'm coming mama," the young redhead said quietly.

The soldiers stopped, aimed their guns and fired.

The two teens waited for the impact, but it never came. Surprised they opened their eyes to see the shocked faces of the soldiers. On the floor lay several hundred bullets, all smashed as if having hit some solid wall. The two pilots were utterly confused; those bullets should have passed through their flesh and killed them, what in the world had happened? The order was soon given to fire again and the two pilots watched in amazement as the bullets hit a series of octagons, bouncing off the force field harmlessly; it was an AT-Field.

'It can't be…?' thought Shinji looking around.

The young boy soon spotted the albino blue-haired girl also known as Rei. It would seem she had erected her AT-Field to protect the two pilots.

"Rei!" Shinji called out.

Hearing his shout the redhead looked over to see the blue-haired girl standing close to them. Both wondered why they hadn't seen her before, but it didn't matter. Suddenly they realised that when they thought Misato had veered off from Nerv they were heading in the direction of Rei's apartment.

"Shinji and Pilot Souyru we must leave immediately, we are required at Nerv to pilot the evangelions," Rei said.

Shinji was about to protest, but was pulled off the ground by Asuka.

"Now's not the time to get all depressed Shinji, don't make Misato's death be in vain" Asuka said sternly.

The young boy looked at Asuka and nodded his head in agreement. The confused soldiers started throwing grenades, wondering what on earth was preventing them from killing the pilots. The explosions could be felt even though it was blocked by the AT-Field.

"Hurry and take my hands to stay under my protection while we run, my barrier can only withstand a certain amount of punishment" said Rei again.

Asuka pulled Shinji next to Rei and put his hand in Rei's and grabbed Rei's other hand. The three eva pilots started running off again to Nerv. The soldiers started chasing them again, firing at them, but found they could not pierce the force field that protected the children. As the three children ran through ruins and debris they noticed some aircraft flying through the air as well as tanks and battleships assaulting Nerv.

"At this rate, Nerv will be destroyed before we even get into our evangelions," said Asuka out loud.

"That is why we must hurry, it is most unfortunate that I was unable to arrive earlier to save the Major, but we must still try" said Rei.

"'Most unfortunate,' is that all it was?" said Shinji angry.

"Shinji I am very sorry, I tried as best I could" Rei said a little hurt.

"Well what took you so long?" asked Asuka.

"Some soldiers came to my apartment to kill me, however I awoke before they got to my room. I quickly opened my window to try and escape and began to climb down. However as I was climbing down I accidentally slipped and fell, hitting my head as I landed in a dumpster" Rei explained.

Shinji and Asuka stayed quiet, they had both forgotten about Rei. She was a pilot too after all so the soldiers would have gone after her too. They knew they didn't have the right to put the blame of Misato's death on Rei, she was unconscious all that time. It was even lucky that she had just managed to save them. The three continued running on in silence, with soldiers hot on their tail.

A nearby explosion caused a shockwave to ripple through the ground and the three pilots lost their footing momentarily. Fortunately the soldiers hadn't fared any better, as many of them lay sprawled on the floor. As there was a whole bunch of soldiers chasing the pilots, if even one of them had tripped, many others would have fallen over too. They were having trouble getting up and the soldiers that got up, tripped over their comrades still on the ground. The three pilots easily managed to get back on track and continued on to Nerv, which was very close now.

"Wait a second, we never asked Misato why it took her so long to get to us. There must have been something that held her up, what's to say we'll even be able to get into Nerv?" Asuka said suddenly anxious.

"We'll just have to find out," Shinji said.

The three eva pilots soon made it to the entrance of Nerv and ran inside only to see Kaji running in the opposite direction and stopped. The man instantly turned around to greet the children.

"Yo there you guys are. Where's Misato?" the man asked.

"No time to explain, we need to get into Nerv before the soldiers come!" Asuka shouted at Kaji.

The man quickly went back and motioned with his arm to follow them. "There's only one remaining elevator that works, we managed to fix it just in time you see" he said leading the three eva pilots back to where he came from.

"The elevators were broken?" asked Shinji.

"Yeah the entire elevator system completely collapsed in the middle of the night. We suspect there's someone on the inside, but it's too late now anyway. Luckily whoever it was did a shoddy job on one of the elevators and we were able to fix it. Misato however went by foot, it must have taken her a while to get to the surface" Kaji explained.

The eva pilots now understood why Misato was so late. Soon they were greeted by the sight of the salvaged elevator and they charged into it. Kaji quickly pressed the floor number for the eva cages and pressed the close door button. However as the elevator doors closed they didn't see any soldiers running in; the soldiers must have taken a long time to get back up and lost the pilots.

"So how come you didn't come with Misato?" asked Shinji.

"The commander wanted me to do something for him, but that's not important. Where is Misato? She must have come and gotten you guys" Kaji asked curious.

"Yeah she did…she…" Shinji trailed off, his eyes watering again. He just couldn't bring himself to say it; it was too painful.

"What happened to her?" Kaji suddenly asked serious.

All was silent save for the sound of the elevator descending. Asuka averted her eyes, unable to meet his gaze. She was about to speak when Rei spoke for her.

"She is dead" Rei said bluntly.

At once the young man's face fell at hearing Rei's words. Asuka punched the elevator wall. "She damn protected us from a volley of machine gun fire! She didn't have to go and be all heroic," Asuka said angrily, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"So there's no chance? She's definitely gone?" asked the spy his voice shaking a little.

"We didn't actually see her die, we were facing the other way. But we heard the bullets hit her and her body hitting the ground" Asuka stated.

The man's face hardened as he digested the news. The spy stood still and calm but inside he was burning with anger and grief. 'It can't be…if only I had gone with her…' Kaji thought. The man wanted nothing more than to get revenge on the men who killed Misato, but his legs felt extremely weak. He fought the urge to cry, surely it was just as hard on the children and they needed an adult figure to support them at the moment. Kaji was surprised to see both Shinji and Asuka come and embrace him tenderly. He couldn't hold in the emotions any longer and let the tears fall. Kaji held the two teens closer to him as he cried silently.

The elevator rocked as the bombing on Nerv continued increasingly. Asuka moved off the young man. "We really need something to hold them off, by the time we get to the eva cages and get our evas ready there will be no Nerv. Not to mention the soldiers might have already infiltrated Nerv and are making their way down an elevator shaft or something," remarked Asuka.

"Well luckily we have one thing up our sleeve, it should be ready soon" said Kaji wiping the tears from his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" asked Asuka curious.

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened to the eva cages.

"You three get to your evas now, Nerv needs your three evangelions fighting, we'll keep the soldiers at bay you just protect Nerv" said the man running off to the command bridge.

Shinji just slumped to the floor, it seemed he had lost all motivation to fight anymore. The redhead pulled Shinji up from the floor and whacked him on the head lightly.

"Come on Shinji, you can't be crying at a time like this, we have to go pilot our evangelions. This is the final battle for humanity," said Asuka to the depressed boy.

"But Misato's gone and how can we win against nine other evas with just three?" he said wearily.

"Come on Shinji where's your perseverance? Surely the invincible Shinji can't lose" she said slightly irritated.

"The Major died saving you Shinji, surely she wished for you to end this battle," said Rei.

"I just don't have the strength anymore…" said Shinji trailing off.

"Oh stop being such a whiny baby! How do you think I felt when I thought you were dead?" said Asuka angrily.

The boy stayed silent. Asuka picked him up by the cuff off his shirt, but the boy looked away from her. Annoyed she pushed him away.

"Fine, be that way I can handle this myself anyway, I don't need anyone!" said Asuka storming off.

The blue-haired girl looked at the retreating redhead worried. She turned to face back at Shinji.

"Pilot Souyru is right Shinji, don't let all your effort be for nothing," she said quietly before moving off in the direction that Asuka had.

The young boy hugged his knees to his chest sobbing quietly. 'Why Misato, why did you have to die…what am I supposed to do now…?' he thought.

He couldn't stand it, his mother dead, Aria dead, Misato dead, all those people dying in this battle. He didn't want anyone else to die; he wanted this destruction to stop. But to fight he would have to kill more people. He couldn't stand his indecisiveness, he needed to do something now; he needed to make a choice. He thought about the past two weeks and how it had been spent trying to get Asuka to be his; he couldn't just let it all go to waste. Misato had died for him; everyone he cared about was depending on him.

'Asuka will die, two against nine isn't very good odds, what should I do…? I love Asuka, I should…no I must protect Asuka, she needs me, I need to fight'

The young boy got up, standing up unsteadily. Tears had dried up on his cheeks, his clothes were ragged and dirty and he looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown. It seemed like such a cruel joke that the fate of the world rested on him. Finding the resolve within himself the boy ran ahead as fast as he could; he needed to reach Asuka. Running ahead he soon passed Rei, who looked on after him in shock before smiling slightly. Reaching the redhead he ran up to her and embraced her from behind, surprising her.

The redhead turned her head slightly to see that Shinji was currently holding her, at that instant her heart warmed.

"Asuka, I know I'm stupid sometimes but I know that you'll die if I don't fight. I love you Asuka, I've always loved you…I can't just let you die…" he said fighting back the tears, he had already cried enough.

"Baka…I've always loved myself too" she said playfully.

Shinji couldn't help smiling at that comment. Turning around the redhead looked into his eyes. "Who said I would die anyway? Surely us two can beat anything that hits us," she said returning his embrace.

The young boy moved his face down to hers, kissing her gently. The young girl returned his kiss, holding the boy tightly. After parting the redhead smiled cheekily up at the boy.

"If you survive this I promise you I will give you a good time" she said blushing slightly, flicking him on the forehead.

The boy just looked at her shocked as she averted her gaze. Rei soon came up to them and took Shinji's arm.

"Let's go Shinji," the blue-haired girl said.

Asuka went and took Shinji's other arm and the three walked on to the eva cages together, temporarily forgetting their problems.

* * *

"How's the situation?" asked the young man to the blonde scientist.

"Well I managed to stop Seele hacking the Magi by installing a type-666 firewall, however all our arsenals on the surface have been completely wiped out, not to mention they have breached several armour layers. It would seem soldiers have already infiltrated Nerv too" replied Ritsuko.

"Well the children have arrived safely, they're already at the eva cages" said Kaji trying to give some hope.

"Alas unfortunately someone has released the Bakelite, the evas are stuck in the solidified liquid, the children have no way of piloting them" she replied.

"You gotta be kidding! Misato died for nothing!" Kaji said angrily slamming his fist against the wall.

"Misato's dead?" asked Ritsuko shocked.

The spy nodded and Ritsuko hung her head, unable to believe that one of her best friends was now gone.

"What about U3?" he asked.

"Luckily it was activated before the Bakelite was released, it is making its way up to the surface right now, at least he can destroy all the aircraft and artillery. But we still have the problem of the nine mass production evas so it's only prolonging our defeat really" she said wearily.

"God damn it! Was my protection even necessary then? I should have just gone with Misato…" he said slumping down on a chair.

"Well there is a small chance the nine mass production evas are that much worse than a real evangelion" she suggested optimistically.

"What kind of world is this where our wars have to be fought by children…?" he said trailing off.

* * *

The three children stared up at their evas in shock. The evangelions were all stuck in solid Bakelite; they had no way to enter their evas.

"What is this, some kind of joke? What are we supposed to do now?" Asuka said annoyed.

Ritsuko's voice came on over the P.A. "Someone released the Bakelite before you guys arrived"

"What are we supposed to do then?" the redhead shouted angrily.

"There's nothing you can do at the moment except survive" Ritsuko replied.

"What? What about Nerv? We will all die anyway if someone doesn't take out the JSSDF" Asuka shouted again.

"We have already sent up someone to deal with them" Ritsuko replied.

"Who?" Asuka asked.

"Touji Suzuhara reporting, I have made it to the surface" said Touji.

"Proceed to destroy all JSSDF forces" Ritsuko ordered.

"Hai" Touji replied.

"What? That dumb jock? What's he doing in an eva?" asked Asuka clearly confused.

"We fixed Unit 03 and escorted the fourth child to Nerv last night just before the elevators collapsed. Kaji was assigned to guard the fourth child, while we got the Unit 03 ready. Since Unit 03 wasn't up at the eva cages where the other evangelions were and we had to configure the unit for Touji and make sure nothing would go wrong, it took a long time. We finally activated Unit 03 and sent the fourth child to the surface, knowing that the armour of an evangelion can easily withstand the JSSDF assault. He will destroy all their forces still above Nerv" Ritsuko explained.

"What about the nine mass production evas?" asked Asuka.

"That is the problem we face" Ristuko replied.

"Dammit, all that was for nothing!" Asuka said punching the wall.

However Shinji just looked confused, he had noticed something. "Hey Asuka why isn't Unit 01 here?" he asked.

"What do you mean it isn't here?" Asuka snapped at him.

"Just look" he replied.

The redhead looked around and indeed noticed that Unit 01 was not in the eva cages. That was strange, where could it be?

"Where the hell is Unit 01 Ritsuko?" shouted Asuka.

"Unit 01 is in the eva cages is it not? Oh wait…it's still back where you fought the last angel" she said suddenly remembering.

"If that's the case, why is Rei's Unit 00 here?" asked Asuka.

"I retrieved the eva yesterday instead of going to school, whatever interference with our equipment the angel caused was gone and so the elevator was functioning this time and I was able to quickly move Unit 00 back up to the eva cages" Rei answered.

Suddenly an idea formed in the redhead's mind. "Then all we need is for Shinji to go retrieve Unit 01 and come back up here and free our evas from the Bakelite" Asuka suggested.

"What?" Shinji said shocked.

"Be sure to take the Lance of Longinus while you're down there as well" Ritsuko said having listened to Asuka's idea.

"Oh and I left your eva back at the access shaft we jumped down" Asuka added.

Both Rei and Asuka looked at Shinji expectantly. Shinji realised he truly was the only who could save Nerv at the moment.

Asuka noticed the expression on Shinji's face and smiled slightly. "Yeah I can't believe we have to rely on _you_ of all people Shinji" Asuka started teasingly, "but that's how it is so get to it, we'll wait here for you to come back"

"I have to go alone?" Shinji said scared.

"I'll go with you," said a voice, making the three children turn around.

The three eva pilots soon found the source of the voice as their eyes focused on Kaji.

"It's the least I can do for Misato," said Kaji gravely.

Shinji nodded and went over to the young man. "Thanks Kaji" said Shinji appreciatively.

"No problem kid" he replied.

The two boys turned around and ran off towards the elevator.

"Good luck Shinji" Asuka whispered as the two figures disappeared from sight.

* * *

Meanwhile on the surface Touji in his Unit 03 had begun decimating the enemy forces. The boy thought back to when he had been re-employed as a pilot. Kaji had approached him and offered the piloting position just yesterday. Touji had refused at first, wanting nothing to do with eva ever again, but soon became interested as Kaji further explained the situation. It would seem that having defeated all the angels, Nerv was then going to be assaulted by Seele and Nerv needed all the help it could get. Touji knew how badly the evangelions affected Shinji and wanted to spare him some of the suffering, besides he wanted to protect the world as well, after all he now had Hikari.

After agreeing to pilot Unit 03 he was escorted by Kaji back to Nerv. There they did various tests and procedures to create and obtain all relevant data for Touji to be able to pilot the giant robot. As he was busy with all preparation for piloting the robot he was completely oblivious to anything else that was happening. But after finding out that the other pilots hadn't arrived yet caused him to worry about Shinji.

With Nerv being destroyed by outside forces, they had no choice but to send Touji up onto the surface to do battle. The boy didn't take too kindly the idea of killing people, but he'd rather do it than have Shinji do it. And so he had arrived at the surface and proceeded to take out the enemy forces. The sun was up and shining brightly down on Tokyo-3. All birds and manner of creatures had been frightened off by the weaponry or were hiding in the ground or lake.

Throughout Tokyo-3, the terrain was littered with craters, rubble and shells. Some of the forests had large clearings in them due to large scale bombing and tanks trampling the trees. Nerv itself had received many hits, reducing it to crater filled pilled of debris. The ruins of Nerv looked nothing like its former glory. Aircraft soared through the sky, tanks and artillery advanced towards Nerv. The JSSDF forces soon focused their attention on Unit 03.

Thousands of shots fired and impacted upon Touji's evangelion, not even scratching him. Touji turned his head to see a missile fired from a nearby aircraft, which he caught and crushed in his hand. A second was fired which hit Unit 03's head and exploded. The jock then grabbed the aircraft and threw it at another one making them both explode.

An enormous amount of artillery fire erupted and began assaulting the evangelion. A pity that Touji didn't know how to erect an AT-Field, it would have made it slightly easier for him. Touji willed his eva to jump into the lake where an enormous wave was brought forth from the eva's entry. Unit 03 picked up the firing battleship and threw it with all his might onto the line of enemy tanks, causing tons of metal to crush the unsuspecting victims. The remaining air and ground forces focused all their fire on the giant mechanical beast.

Unit 03 let out a roar and ran full speed to the nearest aircraft, decimating it with a kick. He then grabbed another and swung it around before releasing it, causing it to impact and explode with some ground forces. As the battle was fairly one-sided the enemy forces began to retreat and the assault on Nerv from the surface was put on hold for the moment.

"Is that all you got you lame ass excuse for people?" Touji shouted to no one in particular. "How can you assault the very people who saved your lives dozens of times you retards?" he shouted once again.

"Touji focus on your mission, do not get carried away," said Ritsuko calmly over the comm.

"Yes maam" he replied.

Unit 03 then turned around and began to destroy any forces left that had not retreated as he didn't see the point in chasing a fleeing enemy. With all aggressors taken care of, Touji sighed in relief. This was short lived however as a group of carrier aircraft flew over the battlefield. The young boy looked up in horror to see it release nine mass production evas. Despite the battle-torn terrain and the billion remains of tanks, artillery, aircraft and weaponry, the battle had only just begun.

* * *

Back in Nerv, two males were currently going down an elevator to reach Unit 01. It seemed strangely quiet in here despite the raging battle going on outside; it would seem they were really deep down now.

"Hey Kaji, what's to stop the soldiers using this elevator? What even stopped them using it just then? I mean we found the elevator just where we left it" Shinji asked suddenly worried.

"They don't know this elevator is fixed, but we have an operational security camera in this elevator so we'll know straight away if they use it"

This seemed to quell Shinji's fears as he calmed down. Of course he wasn't really calm, just the prospect of having to get into his evangelion to fight nine others was making him nervous, but the boy managed to keep his outward appearance neutral.

"Shinji I know this all seems unfair how you children always have to go through this suffering, but you really are our only choice. Any of us would gladly use another alternative or trade places with you if we could, but we can't. There's no need for you to pretend you're not afraid, I know how much responsibility is on your shoulders"

"I want to stay strong like Asuka does" Shinji replied.

"Asuka is Asuka, you are Shinji. Besides she is also afraid"

"But that's exactly the point, she can stay strong even when she's afraid"

"Look Shinji we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Besides what we're expecting of you is almost impossible. We are not going to blame you if you fail, we know we are asking too much of you. However you are still willing to try, even though you know your chance of winning is very low. Together with Asuka your strength is unsurpassable, so do not forget that you are not alone in this. Even if you are feeling weak you can draw on other's strength"

Shinji felt slightly more relieved as he heard Kaji's words. He suddenly felt a little guilty at having made Kaji worry when surely he was still suffering greatly over Misato's death.

"Thank you Kaji, you're right" Shinji replied sincerely.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. The two boys exited the elevator and made their way to where Unit 01 lay. Passing through empty, gloomy corridors the two finally came upon a clearing. This was the enormous corridor that the evangelions passed through just before the giant door to where Lilith was. The silence was deafening and the atmosphere intimidating, Shinji was instantly grateful Kaji had come with him. The corridor was especially dark with there being barely any lights. He wondered why he hadn't noticed how creepy this place was when he was last down here in his eva; probably because he was so full of emotions from discovering Aria was an angel.

Kaji then began to move down the corridor in the opposite direction of Heaven's gate.

"Hey Kaji aren't you going the wrong way?" Shinji asked confused.

"No, remember Asuka said she left your eva at the access shaft?" Kaji answered.

"Oh yeah" Shinji replied.

The two boys continued on down the massive corridor. Occasionally they would pass by a massive patch of darkness as some of the lights had stopped working. At these moments Shinji held onto Kaji's hand tightly, making sure he didn't lose him, afraid that something would come out of the darkness at any moment.

As they were walking a gigantic figure could be seen in the distance. Shinji smiled at the familiar shape of Unit 01. The two quickened their pace as they approached the unmoving robot. However upon reaching the mechanical beast they noticed something wrong; the entry plug was not in the eva, it was on the floor next to it. It would seem that fate was laughing at him, they had finally made it to Unit 01, but now he couldn't pilot it because of a stupid heap of metal.

"You gotta be kidding!" shouted Kaji.

"There's no way we can lift it either" Shinji replied.

"How can every hope fall to the ground…?" Kaji said slumping to the floor.

There was no way Shinji could pilot Unit 01 without using the entry plug and there was no way they could get the entry plug into the eva. The young boy walked up to the entry plug and kicked it angrily. Then he noticed the hatch had been opened manually, it would seem Asuka really did take him out of the plug herself. He looked inside to see some stagnant LCL still remaining inside and sighed. It seemed all was lost, even if Touji were to come down all the way here just to place the entry plug in or even just to free the other two evangelions, it would take too long and by then it would probably be too late.

The young boy walked up to Unit 01, their only hope, and looked up at it desperately.

"Mother I was told you reside in Unit 01. I don't really know what to do now, I was hoping I could save the day, but without the entry plug I can't pilot you. I don't want it to end like this; I've finally found what I've always wanted in life; someone who loves me. I want this destruction and death to end so please mother, help me! I've done everything I could, I've tried my hardest to protect everyone, to protect those I love. Help me mother, I can't do this on my own…" he said trailing off.

Unit 01 remained silent and unresponsive, it seemed his words had no effect. Shinji just couldn't take it anymore.

"Please!" he pleaded, "you've protected me all those times, when I first came to Nerv, when I fought the first angel and also against the 12th and 14th angels. This time I need your help more than ever. I don't want everyone to die, I want to have happiness" he said tears trickling down his cheeks.

The biomechanical robot was untouched and lay there as motionlessly as before. The male eva pilot slumped to the ground and brought his knees to his chest. He sobbed silently; his only regret was that he wasn't going to live his last moments with Asuka.

* * *

"What's taking that baka so long?" Asuka said out loud.

"Be patient Pilot Souyru, I'm sure Shinji is trying his best" Rei replied

"Nine ugly white evas are descending upon me" said Touji over the P.A.

"Great, we got a rookie taking on nine evas" Asuka said annoyed.

"Hold them off as long as you can, the other pilots are currently doing their best to get into their evas" Ritsuko said to Touji.

"Understood" he replied.

"Shinji better hurry, I don't know how long Touji can hold-" she was cut off by the sound of gunfire.

Luckily Rei had erected her AT-Field and blocked the incoming fire, shielding herself and Asuka. Several soldiers had infiltrated Nerv and had already made their way to the eva cages.

"Ritsuko, did they come down the elevator?" Asuka shouted.

"Negative, I was monitoring it the whole time, no one has entered it since Kaji and Shinji" Ristuko replied.

"Come on we need to take cover" Asuka said pulling Rei with her behind a wall.

"This is most regrettable, I cannot keep my AT-Field projected for much longer," Rei said wearily.

"This is ridiculous, do we have to have _all_ the odds against us? Can't we have one bit of luck just once?" Asuka said irritated.

The soldiers were quickly coming onto their position; they needed to move and fast.

"Where is our defense?" Asuka shouted to Ritsuko.

"Most of our soldiers are guarding the command centre and they're being attacked, I'm sorry" Ritsuko replied.

Asuka grabbed Rei and they jumped down onto the solid Bakelite. They ran behind Unit 02 whose armour deflected the machine gun fire with ease. However this was really a futile effort as the soldiers quickly began to surround Unit 02 blocking off any escape for the two pilots.

The soldiers, having surrounded Unit 02, proceeded to move in on the children and fired at them. Rei erected her AT-Field once again, blocking all incoming bullets. Her force field was slowly but surely waning, the constant barrage of projectiles made it difficult to sustain. Asuka looked at Rei, her face set into a mask of concentration; she was using all her last efforts to protect her. Never had the redhead felt so helpless in her life, it was all going to end and there was nothing she could do. She dropped to the floor and closed her eyes, refusing to cry or beg, not willing to give the soldiers any satisfaction.

Rei's AT-Field was beginning to fluctuate; a few stray bullets had begun to pass through, missing the pilots by mere centimetres. The soldiers stopped to reload, creating a short moment of silence. Rei knew that the next volley would be the last and prepared herself for her death.

Gunshots rang out and a few cries of pain were heard. Rei was shocked to see the soldiers receiving bullet wounds. The soldiers turned their attention onto the unknown attacker, but the surprise attack had cost them greatly and most of the soldiers were wounded and some even dead.

"What's happening?" Asuka asked Rei.

"Did you forget about me you bastards?" a voice shouted out.

"It can't be…?" Asuka started.

The soldiers fired at the source of the voice. While the soldiers were distracted Asuka jumped the closest one, knocking his gun out of his hand. The other soldiers momentarily turned to see what was happening and received a few bullet wounds for their momentary lapse in concentration. The last soldier threw Asuka off of him and reached for the dropped rifle. However this proved useless as he received a flying kick in the head from a purple haired woman. She then brought her handgun up and fired causing the man to slump to the floor.

"Misato? How is it possible? I thought you died!" shouted an angry Asuka.

The Major smiled weakly at her.

"How could you do that to us? You know upset Shinji was?" Asuka shouted yet again. Although she too had been affected strongly by it.

"I'm sorry, but I did receive several bullets in the back didn't I?" Misato remarked.

"How did you survive then?" Asuka asked.

"Pure luck really. I was wearing some body armour and the soldiers were aiming low to hit you guys so no bullets hit my head. The force of the bullets hitting me knocked me unconscious though but the stupid soldiers didn't even check to see if I was still alive"

The redhead flung her arms around her guardian, hugging her tightly. The Major winced, the wound on her shoulder was still causing her pain, but at least the bleeding had stopped. Misato returned the embrace warmly, comforting the redhead.

"It is most fortunate that you are still alive" Rei remarked.

"Yeah it seems I came just in time. Oh by the way where's Shinji?" Misato asked.

"He's gone down to get Unit 01," Asuka answered.

The Major looked at the other two evas, noticing the state they were in.

"I see, how long has he been gone?" the Major asked.

"Quite a while actually, I'm kinda starting to get worried. But how did you get here?" Asuka asked.

"The elevator. When I re-entered Nerv I noticed it had been repaired and so I called it up and came down to find you guys in trouble. It would seem the soldiers still haven't found out that one elevator still works. Although before I entered Nerv I noticed that Unit 03 had begun to fight, how's our man doing?" Misato answered.

"He's already defeated the surface forces, so the only soldiers remaining are the ones that have infiltrated Nerv. However the nine mass production evas have already landed. I don't think he can hold them off for long" Asuka replied.

"Come on Shinji, hurry up" Misato said.

"We just have to believe in him," Rei said.

* * *

Touji braced himself as the nine evas had landed, surrounding him completely. He looked around; he really needed a weapon. Not finding anything he decided it was probably better he attacked first lest he be attacked by all of them at the same time. He jumped and landed on one of them, the force of the attack breaking its back. He picked up its long blade-like weapon and swung it as hard as he could at the nearest eva and cut deep into its body.

The other seven evas had gone into action and began to retaliate. Touji jumped back but not fast enough, receiving a blow to the chest knocking him over. Touji managed to roll over just in time before the blade was brought down to where he was a few moments previously. He kicked the eva out of the way and jumped back up only to narrowly dodge another swing from another eva. Touji's sync ratio wasn't high enough and he wasn't skilled enough to fight them all at once. He quickly decided to run, hoping they would chase him.

"Touji, quickly go over to the armament building next to you, it still has a pallet rifle in it" Ritsuko announced over his comm.

Unit 03 made a mad dash for the building and took out the weapon. He turned on his heel firing at the closest white eva, decimating it. He aimed again and fired at the next one who dodged the bullets. Another eva had come from behind and Touji was forced to jump out of the way, falling over in the process and dropping the rifle.

"Damn, this is so much harder than it looks" Touji commented.

The two evas were coming up to him, ready to deal a final blow, but Touji managed to grab his rifle and fired at them, destroying one while the other moved out of the way. Another eva came from behind and threw a punch at the fallen Unit 03. Touji moved out of the way, but the enemy eva had scored a hit on the rifle, smashing it into pieces causing Touji to swear loudly. The jock was sweating profusively; he knew he couldn't keep this up.

"I really, really need some help!" Touji shouted over his comm.

"We still don't have the other evas ready, I'm sorry" Ritsuko replied.

Keeping the remaining mass production evas in sight he began backing up but was soon brought to the ground by a blow from behind. Confused the jock looked up to see another white eva, he looked back at the other five that were left and noticed they were still there. Rolling out of the way to dodge another attack, he got up quickly and saw to his horror the four evas he had taken down back up and fighting again.

"The evas I took down are still alive? What the hell is this?" Touji asked desperately.

"It seems they can regenerate" Ritsuko remarked.

"What? How am I supposed to win?" Touji said dodging another attack.

"Destroy their cores" she replied.

"Easier said than done," he said running off, knowing that if he was surrounded he was done for.

Almost tripping over a massive boulder, he picked it up and threw it as hard as he could at the nearest enemy making its head explode in a torrent of blood. The other eight evas seemed to have grown tired of chasing him around and expanded their wings and flew on after him.

"Just fucking great!" Touji shouted disbelievingly.

The nine evas approached him at an alarming rate and all Touji could do was try his best to avoid their attacks as they swung past him. One of them managed to land a blow on his arm with their blade weapon slicing his left arm off. The young boy screamed in pain but managed to keep on running. His vision was slowly fading, the exhaustion and pain was getting to him. Receiving another blow, he was knocked over onto the ground.

He tried feebly to defend himself, but it was a futile effort and inevitably the evas had surrounded him. They stood there, their ugly faces smiling viciously as though they were enjoying his last pathetic attempts to survive. Touji closed his eyes, not wanting to see what they would do to him. His only regret was that he hadn't told Hikari how much he cared for her.

Suddenly a loud smash was heard but Touji felt no pain. Opening his eyes he looked up to see a red evangelion wrestling with one of the evas. Touji used this chance to jump up and escape. The young boy had been saved by three other evangelions who had attacked the mass production evas while they were distracted.

"It's about fucking time!" Touji shouted.

"Sorry about that, it was annoying getting the entry plug into my eva and the other evangelions were stuck in Bakelite" Shinji replied. Upon finding out that Misato was still alive he had been overjoyed.

"Good to hear your voice Shin-man!" Touji replied.

"What about a thanks for saving your sorry ass?" Asuka said over the comm.

"Get stuffed!" Touji replied.

"It would be best if we were to work together" Rei commented.

"Rei's right guys, stop fighting already, this is definitely not the time for it. I brought the Lance of Longinus with me, I don't know if it'll help or not, but at least fighting four on nine is much better odds" Shinji said.

Four evangelions stood together against nine white ones; the survival of humanity dependant on the outcome of this battle.

* * *

"What brings you here? Surely it is most imperative at this time for you to be at your post" he said emotionlessly.

"Don't give me that bullshit anymore Ikari" said a rather irate blonde-haired woman.

"Do not waste my time Akagi, unless there is something important you wish to discuss, leave" the commander replied annoyed.

The doctor raised a handgun and aimed it at the commander, cocking the weapon. "I think this is very important," she said.

"What is it you want?" Gendo asked impassively.

"All I wanted from you was to look at me, to care about me! Ever since you abandoned the scenario you've been constantly ignoring me. I'm smart enough to realise you were using me all along, why can't you just forget about that bitch," Ritsuko snarled.

"You'll never be half the woman she was" Gendo said sneering a little.

"Don't piss me of anymore you bastard! I can't believe how much of a fool I was, just like my mother. You are just despicable!" Ritsuko shouted angrily waving the gun at Gendo.

"You expected something more?" Gendo asked coldly.

"Well I guess I shouldn't have. But I've made sure you won't get what you want" Ritsuko said smiling slightly.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I took care of all those clones of Rei, I think it's better for her anyway. Now she's unique and can live like a normal human. You can't retrieve Yui's DNA, I've destroyed all the data too"

The commander looked slightly annoyed. "If that is all, you are dismissed" he ordered.

"Still able to talk like that with a gun pointed at your face" Ritsuko said irritated then frowned "I don't understand why you couldn't choose me even though she was dead. All along I was just being played"

"No. Ritsuko I truly…needed you" Gendo said.

"Liar" the doctor replied firing the gun.

The commander's body lay limply in his chair as the doctor exited his office.

* * *

Facing four evangelions this time, the nine white evas renewed their attack, battling ferociously. Touji, missing an arm, found it extremely difficult to fight and found he was dodging attacks most of the time and just trying to stay alive. Asuka was in a rage; she shouted in fury as she jumped to and fro, wielding her progressive knife, dealing several blows to the mass production evas. Rei was protecting Touji in his weakened state.

"You have to destroy their cores or they'll just regenerate!" Touji shouted.

Shinji took aim and threw the lance as hard as he could at the nearest white eva. The deadly lance impaled the mass production eva and it squirmed around in obvious pain. It soon stopped all actions and slumped to the ground dead.

"Killing them with the lance prevents regeneration!" shouted Shinji happily.

His joy was short-lived as he was thrown over by another white eva. Just as he was about to receive a fatal blow from the eva's blade weapon, a loud clang resonated as Asuka had blocked the attack with another blade weapon she had pillaged. Shinji quickly kicked the white eva out of the way.

"Don't die on me you baka," she said irritated.

"Thanks, you be careful too" Shinji replied.

"Heh don't worry about me, I can't lose, especially with you and mum at my side!" Asuka said arrogantly.

Asuka dropped the massive blade weapon and leaped onto the downed eva, stabbing her prog-knife as deep as she could into its core. After hearing a crack she jumped off only just dodging another attack. Shinji ran over to the eva he'd downed before to retrieve the Lance. Asuka, Touji and Rei guarded Unit 01 as he pulled out the Lance. Just as he pulled out the Lance Touji and Rei were knocked over and Asuka quickly went to pull Touji back up, leaving Shinji open to attack. He blocked the first attack with the lance, but found it very difficult to get in an attack with such a long weapon at close range.

Promptly he threw the lance over to Asuka who caught it easily and ran it straight through another eva. Rei then ran over to the downed mass production eva to help Asuka pull out the lance. Unit 01 leapt up into the air crashing down onto another white eva and taking out his progressive knife he stabbed it deep into the enemy's core. With the other evas preoccupied Touji found himself facing down five white evas.

"Why do they always go for me?" Touji shouted out.

Touji once again tried running but found himself falling over as one of the mass production evas sliced his right leg clean off. Screaming in pain the jock went unconscious and his entry plug was ejected. The other evas looked up as they saw the white capsule fly off in the distance; Touji was out of the battle. Shinji, having killed the eva, got back up and ran over to Asuka and Rei who had finally retrieved the Lance again. The three evangelions looked over at the five white evas who were standing stoically.

"I think they're going to try something different this time" Shinji commented.

"Rei you hold onto the Lance, Shinji and me will go on the offensive" Asuka ordered.

"Hai" Rei replied taking the Lance off Asuka.

Unit 01 and 02 then moved towards the five remaining mass production evas. Suddenly one of the white evas threw their blade weapon at the two approaching evangelions. Not being able to dodge the attack, both evangelions raised their AT-Fields. The weapon impacted with their AT-Fields, staying stationary, confusing the two eva pilots. Suddenly the weapon twisted into the shape of the Lance of Longinus. Both Shinji and Asuka's eyes grew wide as the Lance forced its way through their combined AT-Field.

The Lance broke through their AT-Field and was about to impale Unit 02, when suddenly Rei's Unit 00 moved in front taking the hit instead. Rei screamed out in pain, the lance having gone straight through the eva's chest. She dropped the original Lance and collapsed to the floor. A second later her entry plug was ejected and it too flew off into the distance. The two remaining evangelions looked back up at the five white evas who were smiling cruelly back at them.

"Looks like it's just the two of us Asuka" Shinji remarked.

"Two against five is easy" Asuka said pompously. "Shinji you take the Lance, I'll distract the mass production evas"

"Be careful!" Shinji replied concerned.

Unit 02 moved off towards the five remaining white evas again, while Unit 01 picked up the Lance. Another white eva threw its weapon at Asuka, but she was expecting it and was able to quickly roll off to the side. Using this to his advantage Unit 01 threw the Lance at the evas, downing another one. Asuka quickly got back up and delivered a devastating punch to the first eva she reached. It fell over to the ground and Asuka turned around swiftly dealing a mighty kick to the next mass production eva.

By then Shinji had come up to them and quickly stabbed his prog-knife into the eva Asuka had punched earlier, silencing it too. The three remaining white evas moved off and spread their wings taking flight. Shinji retrieved the Lance and waited with Asuka as they looked up at the sky wondering what they were about to do.

Suddenly the mass productions evas all nose-dived and flew straight towards the two evangelions on the ground. Shinji only just barely dodged the attack, but Asuka was hit in the stomach hard. However she managed to roll out of the way just as the third white eva was about to land a mortal blow. The white evas then took flight again ready to attack again.

"Schiesse, those cowards using such cheap tactics to win!" Asuka shouted annoyed.

"What are we gonna do Asuka?" Shinji asked worried.

"If we could fly this would be no problem, but at the moment, to win this we're gonna have to score a lucky hit when they come down at us" Asuka commented.

The white evas came swooping down once again, however Unit 01 and 02 were both unsuccessful in dealing a blow; they were just too fast. They came down again knocking Asuka's eva to the ground. Seeing victory the third eva came down to deal its finishing blow. Asuka attempted to defend herself from the inevitable attack by shielding herself with her arms, though she knew it was futile. Shinji had seen Unit 02 downed and tried to run over, desperately trying to save her; there was no way he was going to let her die now.

The white eva smiled in triumph as it came down upon its helpless victim. Asuka closed her eyes, certain she was about to die. However moments later she found herself still breathing and she opened her eyes to see that Unit 01 had caught the white eva, but more importantly Unit 01 had sprouted wings! Asuka looked at Shinji's eva in awe, the ethereal wings protruding from Unit 01's back glowed eerily, giving the evangelion the look of a demon.

"That was close Asuka" Shinji said relieved.

"What did you just do?" Asuka asked puzzled.

"I just…wanted to save you, when suddenly I found myself flying and I was able to make it to you in time" Shinji replied.

Shinji then threw the dead eva to the ground; he had stabbed its core with his prog-knife when he saved Asuka. Unit 01 then took flight and headed towards the remaining two mass production evas who were airborne again.

"What am I supposed to do?" Asuka asked angrily.

"Just catch me if I fall or something" Shinji replied back.

"Fine you baka"

Facing off the two white evas in the air, Shinji felt a bit of panic as he realised he was more or less on his own against the last two. This time the two mass production evas charged at him, Shinji dodged their attack easily and swung his fist at one. His blow connected and he swung his other arm around, wielding the prog-knife, and stabbed it straight into the eva's core. The white eva went limp and he let it fall.

The last white eva looked furious as it realised it was the only one left. It charged yet again at Unit 01 dealing a heavy blow to Shinji's chest. Unit 01 was sent reeling back and he fell to the ground, however he found his impact lessened significantly as Asuka caught him.

"Come on baka, you can do better than that. There's only one left," Asuka said encouragingly.

As Unit 01 got off the red eva he quickly took flight again. This last mass production eva was tougher than the rest and Asuka couldn't fly so what could he do. Suddenly he thought of an idea.

"Asuka get ready, I'm gonna attempt to throw him to the ground" Shinji said.

"Hai" Asuka replied.

The two airborne evas stared at each other. Unable to find the strength to beat the last white eva he called on the help of his mother again.

'Mother I need your help one last time. I know it's a lot to ask, especially after you activated yourself so that I could free Rei and Asuka's evas, but I can't do this on my own. Protect and fight with me like you always do mother'

Finding the resolve, Unit 01 flew in towards the last mass production eva and they battled each other furiously, each trying to land a fatal blow to the other. They were surprisingly well matched and Shinji was finding it difficult to keep up with the remaining white eva. Finding no other alternative, Shinji tried his luck and feinted an attack. Fortunately the mass production eva fell for it and Shinji quickly moved and grabbed the unsuspecting eva. He then used all his might to throw the mass production eva hurtling towards the earth.

Asuka was ready for it and propped up the Lance she had retrieved. The white eva had been thrown with such momentum that the Lance of Longinus had pierced straight through it. After a few moments it fell silent and the battle was over…

* * *

End Notes: Yes yes I kinda feel bad for making Misato live, partly because so many of you praised me for being able to kill her and the notes at the end of the last chapter really suggested she was dead. But at least it deviates from what happened originally in End of Eva and also I'm sure everyone wants Misato to live. Now whether or not I originally intended to let Misato live or not will remain a secret :D.

To Tobi is a good boy after reading this chapter you can see it's not so depressing after all. (But I mean it was at the time so I guess it does kinda count).

Next chapter is definitely the last chapter, so look forward to the end of this story heh. I would say please stick with me for the next chapter but I suppose you would anyway since it's the end. Btw please review this chapter as always, I wonder if I surprised anyone. I thought the chapter was a little too happy of an ending but whatever; I would like to hear your opinions.


	23. FINAL: Shinji and Asuka

Author's Notes: IT'S FINALLY HERE WOOHOO! Geez that was a pretty long wait for this last chapter and my sincere apologies for the huge gap. I was insanely busy and it's the last chapter so I wanted it to be good. Many things happened including the death of both my cousin and my father's mother (i.e my grandmother) and so there were times when I didn't feel like doing anything. My cousin was only 24 too, it was really heartbreaking and shocking news (no one expected it, he wasn't in hospital or anything). University has only increased the workload and my brother kept interrupting me. But forgetting all that I got it done!

I wanted this chapter to be epic, but I don't know if I achieved it. I wanted a good ending so I took longer to make sure it was good too, I hope you like it, I myself don't think it's epic but it does wrap up pretty much everything.

To Tobi the good boy thanks for your praise, gosh I knew making Misato live would cause so much complaint after having her 'die'. But I think it was better that she stay alive and I do listen to my readers I have changed a few details in my previous chapters because of them if you haven't noticed :P. To marduk-report, 0756 and all those complaining about Misato living, I'm sorry but I'm not gonna changed it now. To reader Kai, don't worry I found your review funny and I hope you enjoy this final installment. To madAngryBeaver I realise how the first chapters lack in good character as well and I'm going to change that. To justdroppingbyagain yes I am going to go back and rewrite the first chapters. To Nick J thanks for your review, most people are put off by the rape in the first chapter and I'm thinking of putting a warning to say skip the chapter hehe.

And without anymore delay here's the last chapter, please enjoy! This is by far the longest chapter reaching an amazing 17800 words without the notes.

* * *

Chapter 23: Shinji and Asuka

"Wait!"

The executioner halted mere millimetres from the knight's head. Everyone turned to the princess.

"This can't happen, that man does not deserve to die he has done nothing wrong. I was the one who chose to lay with him, he being a humble person accepted the blame to keep peace in this land," the princess explained.

"Adelita, I was ready to die, you did not have to save me," the knight said.

"I was not ready to accept your death…" she replied.

"A true knight to the end" said the king "You almost had me execute a knight with more honour than anyone I've known"

"I did not wish for it to happen this way, and he was the one who took the blame upon himself," said the princess.

"Princess you knew what you were doing and what would happen, so why did you sleep with this man?" the king asked.

"Because I love him, no offence to you Your Highness, but I did not want this. I was forced into this arranged marriage," she explained.

"But that is customary" the king replied.

"I implore you Your Majesty I will go ahead with this marriage, but please do not kill that man," she begged.

The king sat there thinking for a while.

"I have grown old in age I doubt I can bear this country an heir. With this in mind and the nobility of this man I think I put my kingdom in safe hands when I say that this man will be my heir. Therefore Princess you will be married to this 'prince' and no war will occur" the king explained happily.

The Princess smiled.

"Thank you O wise and kind king," she said hugging him and kissing him on the cheek.

"Think nothing of it my daughter, it would be a sin to separate two lovers. Release this man!" the king commanded.

The executioner unlocked the headstock and freed the knight. The princess ran over to him and hugged him sobbing on his shoulder.

"There, there Adelita it's all over" the knight said comforting her.

The curtains closed upon this joyous scene and reopened moments later with the entire cast. They bowed as the audience clapped at their performance. Many people in the crowd whistled and cheered as the cast bowed again. Asuka, dressed up as the princess, smiled arrogantly while holding Shinji's hand. The two teens could see Misato in the crowd cheering loudly at them, even going as far as waving her arms at them.

"You did well Asuka" Shinji said to her as they faced the audience.

"You didn't do too badly yourself" she replied.

The cast bowed again followed by the curtain closing again. The children went off to change out of their costumes and the applause slowly died down. The two eva pilots arrived at the changing rooms and stripped off their costumes, finally glad to be out of those clothes. Their feeling was shared as many of the other students sighed in relief as they took off their garments. Today was particularly hot and the costumes didn't help. But it did feel liberating to finally have finished the play.

"Christ am I glad that's over. Come on Shinji let's go already, I don't care about the teacher's stupid praise, Misato's here so we can go leave" Asuka told him.

"Already? But sensei said he really wanted to meet us after the performance" Shinji replied.

"Who cares about some old windbag, let's just go home," she demanded.

"Oh well I guess we can finish up on your promise when we get home since we'll have the time" Shinji said nonchalantly.

"You know sensei really wanted to meet us after the performance, maybe we should stay" Asuka said venomously.

Shinji smiled slightly before he set his face neutral again. The old teacher came in and addressed the students warmly.

"Good job everyone, I was surprised to see everyone had remembered their parts even with all the events transpiring in this city. We only just rebuilt the school a week ago and we were able to get everything done by today. Congratulations!" the teacher said.

"Thank you sensei" the students replied.

"Well there's no real need to keep you any longer, you are dismissed" the teacher announced.

The students rushed out, happy to finally have the play done and off their backs. Asuka took Shinji's hand and pulled him along, eager to leave the school; they got to leave early today because of the play. The two eva pilots made their way back to the stage room to see if Misato was still there. Soon enough they spotted the tall purple-haired woman among the crowd. Asuka dragged Shinji towards the Major, making sure he wouldn't get lost in the crowd. Unfortunately for Shinji, being forcefully pulled through the crowd caused unintentional collisions with other people. The young boy gave several apologies to the people as he was ploughed through them by a certain redhead.

"Just wait a second Asuka" Shinji said after tripping someone over by accident.

"Do you have to be so slow?" Asuka asked irritated.

"You two fighting again already?" Misato said hugging the two eva pilots together.

"I think you're suffocating him Misato" Asuka remarked at seeing Shinji's face turn blue.

At this comment Misato removed Shinji's face, who looked dazed, from her chest and crushed his face into Asuka's chest instead.

"How does that help?" shouted Asuka annoyed, pulling herself out of the embrace.

"I just thought you were jealous," Misato teased.

"You're the one who shoved his face there you tramp. I think it's obvious he far prefers my chest and-"

"Actually Asuka-" Shinji started.

Asuka gave him a terrifying glare, which instantly shut him up. Satisfied with his silence the redhead turned back to Misato, smiling triumphantly.

"There you see, he's obedient to me," Asuka said playfully patting Shinji's head.

"Then that means you're just forcing his opinion" Misato commented.

"No way, I'll even ask him" Asuka said turning to face the boy who had a look of fear on his face. "Whose breasts do you like better, mine or Misato's?" the redhead asked sweetly.

Now Shinji had seen and felt Asuka's bare breasts many times, but he could not boast the same with Misato. He then smiled mischievously.

"I dunno, I've never tested out Misato's chest" Shinji disclosed.

Asuka's face was a little shocked and a playful smile crept upon the Major's lips. "Then I declare you test both our chests now and announce the winner" Misato said a little too cheerfully.

"What are you kidding Misato? You're more than twice his age and we're in public, do you want to be labelled as a paedophile" Asuka said incredulously.

"You're just afraid you'll lose" Misato rebuked.

"Fine whatever, I don't care" Asuka said throwing her arms up in the air.

A few onlookers couldn't help but feel how lucky Shinji was to get to touch the breasts of not one but two beautiful women, and get away without injury. Shinji wouldn't pass up a chance to fondle Asuka's breasts and agreed wholeheartedly to the contest.

"Damn perverted baka" Asuka muttered at Shinji's quick compliance.

"So pick who to try out first," Misato said.

"Asuka" Shinji replied instantly.

The redhead just gave him a glare before turning around. Shinji brought his hands underneath her shirt and moved them up to cup her breasts. Asuka's heart race sped up and she blushed a little at the contact but made no resistance. The young boy continued his actions as he softly kneaded her breasts, making sure to occasionally rub her nipples. The redhead refused to let out a moan and kept her body stoic and unmoving. As always Asuka's breasts felt wonderful, soft and firm and they were a generous size. 'I swear they seem bigger than last time' Shinji thought to himself.

"I think you've 'tested' them enough Shinji" Asuka said menacingly.

Taking the hint Shinji removed his hands and smiled sheepishly at his fiancée. The young boy turned towards Misato and approached her.

"1000 yen says the tall lady wins," said one man.

"No way! I bet 10000 yen the redhead wins," another man said.

"Impossible the older woman definitely has larger breasts" the first man remarked.

"It's not about the size of them but the feel of them" a third man commented.

"I'm inclined to agree," said a fourth man.

"That would make sense," the first man said nodding.

"You are wise in the ways of women's chests" said the second man.

Facing Misato's back, Shinji brought his hands under the Major's shirt and moved them up to her breasts. 'There's no way I'm going to fondle my guardian's chest, this was just an excuse to fondle Asuka's breasts' Shinji thought. The young boy moved his hands, pretending to feel Misato's breasts.

"Oh Shinji" Misato said playfully, infuriating a certain redhead.

"Why is she even letting you touch her?" Asuka asked annoyed.

"Ok I'm done" Shinji stated removing his hands from Misato. He had tested Misato much faster than Asuka.

The two women looked at him expectantly as he put on a mask of concentration, pretending to decide whose breasts were better.

"Hmmm" he said dragging it out as long as he could. Asuka couldn't help her eye twitching.

"How long does it take to work out the obvious?" Asuka said angrily.

"Ok I've decided" Shinji said finally. "It's a very hard decision, both breasts are a nice size, but Misato's are bigger" Shinji started. Asuka gave him a glare but said nothing. "However size isn't the only thing that matters. The softness, shape and firmness also count" he said continuing, trying to make up as much bullshit as he could. "The shape of Asuka's breasts is definitely more favourable and both breasts are soft and firm, so I declare that both breasts win, it's a tie" he finished.

"That boy is an artisan, a master of women's breasts!" the crowd of men shouted.

"You're such a prick Ikari!" shouted Asuka. She stormed off, completely annoyed at her fiancé's behaviour.

"You didn't even touch my chest Shinji, why didn't you just say Asuka's were better? I couldn't care less, I was just joking about that contest to be honest" Misato said to Shinji.

"I just felt like having some fun, I'll always think her breasts are the best no matter what" Shinji admitted.

"Ha! I knew it, you dickhead!" Asuka shouted from behind them.

Both guardian and ward jumped in surprise and turned around to see Asuka smiling smugly at Misato.

"Well I usually don't like to rub it in Misato" Asuka started.

'Yeah right' they both thought.

"But I TOLD YOU SO! It is quite obvious that my chest is superior" she stated matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, yeah you win Asuka. Now let's go already, this place is too crowded" Misato said hating Asuka's arrogant attitude when she was right or thought she was right.

"Mmm I agree" Asuka said wanting to leave as well.

Much of the crowd had cleared from the exit area of the stage room and so the three roommates headed towards there making their way through the crowd of adults once again, this time without Asuka pulling Shinji through, preventing any potential accidents occurring like before.

"So" Misato began, "I thought that play wasn't too bad. The storyline was pretty shoddy, but your student's acting sure made up for it. I mean I found it enjoyable to watch, especially that wonderful kiss scene, did you hear me cheering?" Misato explained.

"You were so loud I'd be surprised if all of Tokyo-3 didn't hear you" Asuka remarked.

"Quiet you" Misato snapped at her. "Now back to what I was saying, I couldn't help but be reminded by the day when I was watching you two practising the play, back when you two were still apart and attempting to do the kiss scene…

_Misato spat out her beer. "You two have to kiss?" she asked laughing._

"_Don't blow in Misato" said Asuka angrily._

"_I will take the day off work just to see you two kiss in that play, man it'll be worth it" Misato said giggling._

"_Misato!" Asuka said threateningly._

"_Oh don't let me stop you, go ahead and practice it. Or are you afraid of kissing a little boy like Shinji?" Misato said teasingly._

"_I'm not afraid of anything!" she said indignantly._

_The redhead grabbed Shinji by the neck and pulled him into a deep lip lock. Misato gave Shinji two thumbs up as she grinned cheekily._

"Never had to take the day off work though, thanks to you guys Nerv isn't needed anymore. Hell we already decommissioned the evangelions" finished Misato.

"Yes and now you're behaving even lazier than before" Asuka remarked.

Misato was about to retort when Shinji cut her off "But of course Misato don't forget your roll as well. You saved our lives and took care of the aftermath"

"God even after saving the world I couldn't escape the paperwork" said Misato recalling the horror of countless sleepless nights.

The trio had already made it outside the stage room and was heading back home. The sun was still high up in the sky as it was just after midday.

"Wasn't there any other Nerv staff that could help you?" Shinji asked.

Misato answered, "With your father dead organisation was slow plus sub commander Fuyutsuki declined the commander position, shoving it onto me. As I was the commander, responsibility fell onto me and everyone made up excuses to get out of doing it. Ritsuko said she needed to help with all the casualties involved, Kaji said he needed to investigate the death of Commander Ikari"

Asuka scoffed at hearing that. A couple of cars passed by beeping madly as they walked; did fate even scorn him?

"Yeah I know everyone is glad he died anyway, as if Kaji cares about who killed him" Misato said disdainfully.

"He is still my father and I still had some things I wanted to say him, but it's too late now" Shinji said a little annoyed.

"Yeah yeah I know, but I doubt we'll find out what happened and at this stage it doesn't really matter, Nerv has been dissolved" Misato finished.

"Well now that Unit 01 has been decommissioned I hope my mother's soul was freed so that she will finally be with him, in the end that's all he wanted" Shinji stated.

The two women stayed silent as the three continued their walk to their apartment. As they walked people would greet them or nod at them, acknowledging their efforts in saving the city. It was quite awkward at first but the three had already gotten used to the attention and they were happy that people appreciated what they had done.

After a while Asuka decided to break the silence. "Speaking of Unit 01, I recall in the final battle it took you quite some time to get Unit 01 up to speed, we only just saved Touji too. What exactly happened down there?" she asked.

"It was your fault! When you took out my entry plug to get me inside your eva after defeating the angel, you left it on the ground. You didn't think I had the strength to lift the plug and insert it into my eva myself did you?" Shinji replied.

"No of course not you baka, placing your entry plug back into your eva wasn't really on my mind at the time. So how did you get Unit 01 started?" she asked curiously.

Shinji then began to explain the sequence of events that led to his activation of Unit 01…

"_Please!" he pleaded, "you've protected me all those times, when I first came to Nerv, when I fought the first angel and also against the 12th and 14th angels. This time I need your help more than ever. I don't want everyone to die, I want to have happiness" he said tears trickling down his cheeks._

_The biomechanical robot was untouched and lay there as motionlessly as before. The male eva pilot slumped to the ground and brought his knees to his chest. He sobbed silently; his only regret was that he wasn't going to live his last moments with Asuka._

_Suddenly Shinji heard a gunshot ring out and looked up surprised to see Kaji holding his gun up, aimed at Unit 01. He fired a few more times, the bullets harmlessly bouncing off the thick armour of the evangelion. To say Shinji was surprised was an understatement._

"_Get up you stupid hunk of metal! How can you just sit there not caring?" Kaji shouted angrily at the unmoving evangelion._

"_Kaji I don't-" Shinji started._

"_No! I WILL make this evangelion startup!" Kaji shouted again._

_He then turned around aiming his gun at Shinji and fired, the bullets passing by him dangerously close. Shinji fell to the ground in shock; was Kaji going to kill him?_

"_Yeah are you willing to let your son die you stupid woman?" Kaji shouted again._

_Shinji swore he saw the evangelion's eyes flash very faintly but dismissed it as his imagination. Kaji fired a few more bullets at Shinji, one grazing his arm making him cry out from the pain. _

"_Just typical, women are so selfish and lazy, you can't even be bothered to help your son who is about to be killed by a psychotic spy. Why are women always so indecisive? You slept with that asshole Ikari and gave birth to Shinji. Take some responsibility you stupid fuck!" Kaji screamed. He then pulled his trousers down, revealing something nobody wanted to see, well except maybe Misato._

Shinji had to stop talking _and _walking as the two females were on the floor crying from laughter. "It wasn't funny at the time, stop laughing already" Shinji said annoyed.

"No wonder Kaji was always quiet about that event" Misato commented.

"Keep in mind he wasn't all himself, he thought you were dead and he couldn't sit by and let everyone else die. Although I was a bit scared he was going to kill me" Shinji explained.

"Just finish the story already" said Asuka growing impatient.

Shinji started walking again and the others followed suit. "Alright then, you might be thinking why I'm telling you about this, well it's because…"

_Kaji's rant was short-lived as he was flung across the cavern by a mechanical hand; Unit 01 had activated! Shinji was completely bewildered by Kaji's behaviour but he didn't want him to die now. Running over to where he lay he checked on him. The male eva pilot heard some groaning and smiled happily._

"_Are you okay Kaji?" Shinji asked concerned._

"_I'm fine kid, just go and finish all of this" Kaji managed to say._

_The young boy didn't want to leave him alone here, but he didn't have the time to help him, with Unit 01 activated he had to go and free Asuka's and Rei's evangelions. Reluctantly Shinji moved back to Unit 01._

"_Thank you mother, I promise I will do my best to live on for your sake" Shinji said to the activated evangelion. _

_The young boy then entered the entry plug and closed the hatch. He wasn't in his plugsuit, so his school uniform would have to suffice. Suddenly Shinji could feel the sense of weightlessness as the entry plug was lifted off the ground and inserted into the eva. The eva pilot felt the familiar feeling of the plug being filled with LCL and the synchronisation of himself with the evangelion. Soon he was ready and he stood up; finally glad that he could save the others. Being reminded by his current mission he decided not to waste any time._

_Shinji quickly made sure Kaji was ok, picking him up and putting him in the light at least. He then began running off full sprint towards heaven's gate, remembering Ritsuko's words on retrieving the Lance of Longinus. With the size of the eva's bounds the trek was very short and the cavern no longer seemed as ominous as it had. Upon entering the gate he saw the familiar sight of the eva graveyard and the massive form of Lillith crucified on the cross by the Lance of Longinus._

_The young boy quickly willed his eva over to the giant white being and began to pull on the enormous lance. The Lance hadn't been moved for a while and as such he found some difficulty pulling out the weapon. However it didn't take long for him to pull it free and as he did, Lilith regenerated its lower body. Having the weapon in hand he turned around and exited the area, making a mad dash towards the eva elevator; as it could not be used by humans and it didn't go to the surface they didn't bother taking it out, a most fortunate outcome for Shinji._

_As Unit 01 entered the elevator it started moving up to the eva cages. The eva pilot impatiently tapped his heel as he waited for the elevator to reach the eva cages, creating a loud noise as Unit 01's foot tapped the elevator floor. Finally arriving at his desired level Shinji quickly moved off the elevator and proceeded to smash the solid red Bakelite that was hindering the other two evangelions. He could see Asuka screaming and yelling at him for being so slow and to make sure not to damage her evangelion in any way. _

"…and well you know the rest" Shinji said finishing.

"Who woulda thought it only took some insulting to get an eva started?" Asuka said sarcastically.

"Actually Unit 01 had an S2 Engine" Shinji said.

"I think you missed the sarcasm boy" Asuka snapped at him.

"Now, now no need to start fighting again, we're almost home. Shinji can make us something great" Misato said cheerily.

Indeed the explanation for Unit 01's activation had passed the time quite rapidly; in fact the trio had stopped many times along the way as they were so absorbed in the story.

"Oh that reminds me!" Asuka said suddenly. "I remembered something else. I recall Shinji making these extremely wonderful waffles. They were absolutely mouth-watering, so please make them again Shinji I have a craving for them" Asuka said eagerly.

Shinji almost tripped over while Misato sweatdropped recalling the 'ingredients' those waffles were made of. Both Misato and Shinji gave each other a 'no way' look.

"Umm Asuka I don't think it's such a good idea, I'll make something else" Shinji suggested.

"Come off it, they're just waffles. How hard can they be to make?" Asuka replied.

"No really Asuka, I don't have the ingredients to make them again" Shinji said trying to weasel out of making those waffles.

"Asuka, Shinji's right. I really think it's better he doesn't make them" said Misato desperately trying to forget the incident.

"What's the big deal? Just give me money and I'll even buy the ingredients myself!" Asuka said starting to grow annoyed at both of them and their refusal to have the waffles. They had tasted so good, what was the issue?

"Look you can't buy those ingredients, just forget about it" Misato said growing anxious. Her facial expression clearly showed she wanted Asuka to move to another topic.

"What the hell do you mean? What in god's name did you put in them Shinji?" Asuka asked stubbornly, unwilling to stand down.

"IGNORANCE IS BLISS ASUKA, JUST DROP IT!" Misato shouted at the redhead.

"Misato please calm down, you're making it worse" Shinji said sweatdropping.

"Nothing is going to be hidden from me! You will tell me what you put into those waffles right now!" Asuka said furious.

"Ok fine, but Asuka you must promise not to inflict any physical or mental pain on either of us if I tell you" Shinji said adamantly.

"Alright fine" Asuka said rolling her eyes, wondering what could possibly be so bad about waffles.

Shinji noticed they had arrived at their apartment already; their discussion really had passed the time. However there was still much traffic out and about and the sun was really scorching. Stopping outside the building, he decided it was better he told her inside.

"Let's go inside first, then I'll tell you" Shinji replied.

"Yes, yes whatever. Let's just go inside then" Asuka said impatiently.

The trio made their way inside the apartment building and entered the elevator. After pressing their floor number the three of them leant against the elevator wall, keeping an awkward silence between them. The redhead eyed the other two occupants suspiciously while they avoided her gaze. 'And here I thought I had remembered every secret' Asuka thought.

Upon arriving at their level, the elevator doors opened and the three roommates made their way to their door. Shinji silently prayed that something would happen, like him passing out from the heat but alas his prayers went unanswered. Misato took out her key, unlocking the door before opening it and rushing inside.

'Don't leave me alone Misato!' Shinji thought as he saw the purple-haired woman retreat inside.

"Come on, get in already" Asuka said pushing Shinji through the front door.

"I'm going, I'm going, calm down" he replied.

After entering through the front door, Asuka closed the door behind her, locked it and turned to face Shinji. The young boy quickly scanned the room, noticing the Major had escaped to her room. Stepping back the boy found himself being held back forcefully by the redhead. As it impossible to flee, the male eva pilot returned his attention to the increasingly impatient redhead.

"Spit it out already third child, I really don't like to wait" she said glaring at him.

"Geez, I don't know why you're so interested, but trust me you're better off not knowing" Shinji insisted.

"Just tell me!" she said her patience worn.

The male eva pilot found himself opening and closing his mouth trying to think up of a plausible excuse. However with the whole thing being made into a huge deal, it was pretty much impossible to make up a lie that would convince the redhead. Sighing the young boy decided he would disclose half the secret.

"Ok fine, the secret ingredient in those stupid waffles is…is my…my semen" he said finishing quietly.

"Eh? I must've heard you wrong, I swear you said semen" Asuka said.

"Nope, that's what I said. I was playing a prank on you, unfortunate that Misato tried them as well" Shinji explained.

"What the hell? You put _your_ semen into those waffles?" Asuka asked disbelievingly.

"That's what I said. See I knew you wouldn't want to know" Shinji replied timidly.

Asuka grabbed Shinji's collar and stared at him menacingly. "This better not be some sick joke, because it really isn't funny" she said threateningly.

"Asuka remember your promise" Shinji said in fear. Sighing, the redhead let go of him and the young boy recomposed himself. "Why do you think we were so reluctant to tell you?" Shinji continued.

"But how would Misato know?" Asuka asked.

"She wanted me to make them again and nothing would convince her against making them again, so I told her" Shinji answered. 'Go figure how stubborn women can be' he thought to himself.

"That is so disgusting! You've put me off waffles for life you stupid moron! What could have possibly been going through your mind to do something so outrageous?" she asked bewildered.

"I just wanted to get you back in a way that you would never find out. But it's in the past Asuka, I can't change it now. Besides you liked the taste!" Shinji said defending himself.

"It doesn't matter; it's the principal of the point! We are both engaged now and I haven't ever let you cum into my mouth, let alone when we were single!" Asuka shouted at him.

"Maybe that should change!" Shinji countered.

"I am never going to give you a blowjob Ikari!" she refuted.

"And why is that?" he asked.

"Why should I have to put your cock in my mouth?" she replied.

"Where is the problem in putting my cock in your mouth?" he replied back.

"Because it's big, ugly and dirty" she answered.

"But you let it in your vagina?" he asked confused.

"I don't have to see it or taste it there do I?" she countered.

"I have given you oral sex _many_ times Asuka, do you see me having a problem about it?" he asked.

"My vagina is much prettier to look at and as a woman I keep it clean" she replied.

"God _you_ are so ridiculous!"

"_You_ should understand by now, I will NOT submit in bed"

The young boy sighed. "Asuka you should stop being so selfish all the time and do things for me once in a while"

"I've done many things for you! What are you saying?" Asuka said a little offended.

"Yes you have, but only when it has benefited you as well. I'm talking about something just for me" Shinji explained.

The redhead suddenly stayed silent, knowing it was pretty much true. Asuka couldn't really bring up in her head a time where she did something purely for Shinji.

"Anyway I was going to make us something to eat, I'm sure you don't want me to make waffles right?" Shinji said breaking the silence.

"Uhh yeah" she replied feeling a little guilty.

With that the male eva pilot went off to the kitchen to prepare his roommates a meal. The redhead sat down on the couch with a sigh. In all honesty she had tried to behave nicer towards her fiancé, but it was harder for her than she had thought. The young girl was so used to doing what she wanted without question, it had become instinct. 'Why is he making me feel guilty over something so stupid? I should be angry at him for doing something so disgusting to me in the past' she thought.

Noticing the lack of noise Misato walked back into the living room and saw the redhead sitting down on the couch. After making sure she was safe the purple-haired woman sat down next to Asuka.

"So you still want the waffles?" Misato asked jokingly.

"Yep, Shinji's making them right now" Asuka replied.

"WHAT?" Misato exclaimed in horror.

Asuka giggled a bit at Misato's response. "Relax Misato I was joking, though I can't believe he did something so gross" Asuka remarked.

"Yeah I can't eat waffles anymore, so never bring this topic up again please" Misato requested.

"Ditto" Asuka replied.

The warmth from the sun came in through the windows, warming up the apartment. Suddenly feeling thirsty, Misato stretched and got up from the couch.

"You want something to drink Asuka?" the Major asked.

"Sure" the redhead replied.

Going to the kitchen Misato went to the fridge to get a beer and a bottle of water. By now a pleasant smell permeated throughout the apartment as Shinji was cooking a meal. Asuka's stomach grumbled as she smelt the food; clearly she was hungry. The young girl decided to move over to the dining table as she saw the purple-haired woman return from the kitchen with a beer and bottle of water in hand. Following the girl Misato also sat down at the dining table handing Asuka her drink. Having nothing better to do to pass the time the redhead attempted a conversation with her guardian.

"So how are you and Kaji doing?" Asuka asked Misato randomly.

"Oh we're doing fine, we've already arranged our wedding too. It'll be on in about three months. Man it seems so far away and so close at the same time" Misato answered.

"It's about time you stuck with one man" Asuka said smirking.

"Don't even start it Asuka" Misato said warningly.

"But it's good you've got everything settled with him" Asuka said exhaling.

"Is something wrong with you and Shinji?" Misato asked a little quieter, mindful of the subject of discussion being in the kitchen.

"Well not really, it's just that there's something about him. It's like he has a big secret inside him that he won't tell me. Perhaps he feels guilty about something. I've told him I've forgiven him for everything many times already and it doesn't seem to work. He keeps putting it off, getting angry, feeling sorry for himself or calling me selfish and I'm really at a loss for what to do" Asuka explained.

The Major pondered this for a while, trying to think of a possible reason Shinji would be acting this way. 'It couldn't be that Shinji still feels guilty over raping Asuka before? The only way to solve this would be for him to discuss it with Asuka, but this is something that I cannot bring up' Misato thought.

"Well?" Asuka prompted Misato.

"Shinji has always kept things to himself, I suggest you just try to find out what's bugging him. He might discuss it with you eventually if you keep trying. It is obviously something within himself and only you can get it out of him" Misato replied.

"Yeah thanks for the 'great' advice Misato" Asuka said sarcastically.

"You understand him better than I do and it's really not my place to interfere with your relationship anyway" Misato replied.

"Whatever" Asuka said, "Shinji! You done yet?" she called out to him.

"Just about" he replied.

"Good I'm starving!" Asuka replied back.

Soon enough, the male eva pilot entered the dining area and placed the meal he had prepared on the table, earning much confusion from the two females. They both looked at him for an explanation.

"I decided to try something different today. Those are dumplings filled with meat, those are sausages and those are roast potatoes" he said pointing to the different food items.

Asuka chuckled lightly at the meal before her. "You know Shinji, I'm glad for the change in food, but these dishes together is a bit of a strange combination" she said smiling, "but I'm sure it'll taste great anyway"

"I don't really know what this food tastes like, but I'll give it a go. Surely anything made by Shinji will taste great" Misato said sucking up.

And so with that the two girls began to eat the meal before them as Shinji sat down and helped himself as well. All three found the food delicious as they ate, Asuka making sure to eat as much as she could. Soon the redhead finished and she got up, placing her plate in the sink. The other two had eaten much slower than Asuka and as such much of their meal still remained. Satisfied and wanting to relax the young girl left the dining room to go to her bedroom, leaving the other two roommates alone. The purple-haired woman saw this as an opportunity to speak up.

"Shinji umm…" Misato started.

"Yeah?" Shinji replied.

"Something tells me you're still feeling guilty over that incident a long time ago" she said straightforwardly.

"Why do you say that?" Shinji asked.

"Asuka" she simply replied.

The boy just stayed silent. Shinji didn't like talking about this topic, it was one of the things he was most disgusted about himself with.

"It will eat you from the inside Shinji, you have to discuss it with Asuka" Misato continued at the boy's silence.

"Are you crazy? There's no way I could tell her about that" Shinji said finally responding.

"You don't have to tell her you actually did it, just talk about it hypothetically or something. Shinji, really you can't leave this alone or it will bite you back in the future" Misato answered back.

"I wouldn't have a clue how to bring it up" Shinji said truthfully.

"Asuka is worried about you, if you try to talk to her, she'll listen" Misato said with certainty.

"But it's so hard to talk about, plus I don't know how she'll respond" Shinji replied.

"You just gotta trust in yourself and her" Misato said encouragingly.

Shinji stayed silent, contemplating would he should do. The Major knew it was a great difficulty for the boy since he usually kept his problems to himself, but she also knew he needed to move on.

"You don't have to do it right now, you've got time. But don't take too long or it will become harder" Misato said. Having nothing more to say the Major stood up and left the dining room to go to her room, leaving the young boy alone.

After a while of just staring blankly out into space, the young boy shook off his stupor and stood up. Shinji didn't exactly know how to bring up the subject without sounding suspicious, but what he was more worried about was that she might remember the incident; he was sure it was an experience no one would want to remember. But regardless he needed to talk to her now anyway so he moved off to her room.

The male eva pilot arrived at her door and knocked on it quietly. Almost immediately he heard a 'come in baka' from the redhead as a response. Taking that as an invitation, the young boy opened her door and entered her room.

"How did you know it was me?" Shinji asked.

The redhead didn't answer, thinking it was a stupid question. Shinji looked around noticing it was untidy as always and the redhead was lying down on her bed looking up at him questioningly. As Shinji walked forward, his foot caught on something. Looking down he discovered it was a pair of panties, used or unused was unknown to him. With an amused look he bent down to pick it up and stood back up, presenting his find to the young girl.

Asuka just looked at him strangely. "What? They're panties Shinji, you've seen them heaps of times" she said slightly annoyed.

"It's not very ladylike to leave undergarments lying around everywhere" Shinji said in a mocking tone.

"Did you come in here just to comment on my untidiness or what?" she asked.

"No these just remind me of something we haven't done in a while" he said dropping the underwear back onto the floor.

"If you came here for that, turn 180 degrees, walk three metres and close the door behind you as you exit the room" Asuka said exasperated.

"No actually I came here to say sorry-" he started.

"Damn and I thought that habit of yours had died already" she said interrupting him.

He almost said it again but stopped himself. "Um about the discussion we had before, don't worry about it, I just snapped a little" he explained.

"Oh you don't want me to give you oral sex?" Asuka said smirking.

"That's not exactly what I meant" Shinji said sweatdropping.

"Look what you said was kinda true and it's only natural for a guy to want a girl to go down on them, I don't see why you came to apologise" Asuka said.

"Well…um" Shinji said suddenly at a loss for words.

"More importantly Shinji, it seems something's troubling you. If there is something bothering you, just talk to me. There is no need for you to keep secrets from me" Asuka said understandingly.

The young boy looked down at his fiancée; her face betrayed a hint of concern. He noticed her beautiful red hair hung down over her shoulders and her gaze was focused unfalteringly on him. The young girl sat up straighter, expecting the boy to say something, causing her hair to shift, breaking the boy out of his daydream.

Shinji moved towards the redhead, getting onto the bed as he moved his right hand to caress her cheek. The redhead noticed the scar on his hand, remembering the time he had shielded her against the knife. Still his hand felt soft as it made contact with her face and she closed her eyes, enjoying the comfort. The young girl reopened her eyes and reached up to flick Shinji on the forehead.

"Don't distract me Shinji, just tell me what's wrong" Asuka said.

"When I'm with you all my problems disappear," Shinji said placing a hand on her shoulder.

The redhead rolled her eyes. "Please" she remarked brushing off his hand. "I can't stand your corny shit, when I'm with you your problems multiply exponentially so don't make up such crap" she said smiling wickedly.

Shinji couldn't help chuckling a little at that comment, however he moved closer to the young girl closing the distance between them. Cheekily the redhead grabbed her pillow and placed it in between her and Shinji, causing the boy to kiss it instead. The male eva pilot took the pillow and threw it away. He then grabbed the redhead and quickly pulled her towards him, landing his lips on hers. The young boy wrapped his arms around the girl, embracing her tenderly as she did the same. Slowly but surely Shinji pushed Asuka down flat on the bed.

Asuka let her arms fall on the bed and the two teens parted. The redhead raised her eyebrow at the young boy as he looked down at her. Moving down, the young boy began to nuzzle her neck while his hand found its way onto her chest. The young girl moaned as he fondled her breast.

"It has been a while" Asuka commented enjoying the contact. "But I told you to walk out of the room if you came for that" she said sternly, removing his hand.

"But what about your promise?" Shinji asked.

"Not today Shinji" Asuka said with finality.

The young boy sighed in frustration, but moved off the redhead. "Damn it, playing hard to get only makes me more determined" Shinji said anxiously.

"Don't worry baka-shin, Asuka always keeps her word. I never said we had to do it today, besides you should be content with just looking at me" she said sticking her tongue out at him.

"Well you haven't graced me with a good look for a long time either" Shinji countered.

"Oh yea?" Asuka said. "Well I suppose it doesn't hurt," she said lifting up her skirt, smiling mischievously.

Shinji froze with his mouth open and she dropped her skirt back down. The young girl walked past Shinji and whispered in his ear, "I think that was sufficient"

Asuka exited the room while Shinji stood there still wondering when she had become such a tease. But when Shinji thought about it, those panties he had picked up had felt a little warm, why hadn't he realised earlier? 'God damn I love her' Shinji thought.

The young boy followed after the girl and exited the room. Quickly scanning around he saw her about enter the bathroom and moved swiftly towards her. The male eva pilot grabbed his fiancée around the waist and pulled her back.

"Waah?" said Asuka surprised.

"You didn't think you could escape that easily did you?" Shinji said reaching under her skirt.

"I told you, not today!" she said her face turning red.

"Why aren't you wearing any underwear then?" he said, inserting his finger deeply to emphasise his point.

"Ahhh…I can do what I want…let go of me!" Asuka shouted, struggling.

"I'll make you a deal, if you can make me cum I'll let you go, but if you fail we go back to your room and have sex until we fall asleep" Shinji said smirking.

"That's preposterous!" Asuka said completely outraged.

"Well I guess I'll just take you back to your room then" Shinji said turning around.

"No wait! Wait! I accept the deal!" Asuka said quickly.

"Good, you've got five minutes starting now" Shinji said.

At once Asuka turned herself around and went for his pants. However Shinji had caught her arm and she found herself unable to pull his pants down. The young girl rubbed herself against his groin and she felt his erection through his pants. Asuka was hesitant about using her other hand because if he got it trapped, she was done for. The redhead twirled around forcing Shinji to release his grip on her arm.

Asuka then jumped onto the boy and found herself with her legs around his waist and her chest in his face. Shinji grabbed both her arms making her unable to move, but this is exactly what she thought he would do. She moved her legs inside his pants and dropped them to the floor pulling his pants down with them. Now the young girl found herself unable to do anything further as Shinji's grip was too strong.

Asuka tried to position herself over his cock, but Shinji caught onto what she was doing and picked her up flipping her upside down. With her legs around his neck and her arms held by his Asuka found herself completely helpless. His erect cock was right in front of her eyes but she couldn't do anything to get him to cum.

"Only one minute left Asuka" Shinji said, absolutely enjoying the situation.

Asuka was not in the mood to 'have sex until they fall asleep,' and Shinji made things worse by moving his mouth down onto her exposed pussy. With his tongue exploring her depths Asuka found it impossible to concentrate, but she would not accept defeat. Grudgingly Asuka opened her mouth and took his cock into her mouth, sucking and licking it as hard she could, trying her best to get him to cum. Having been taken by surprise and not having cummed for a while, the young boy came right into the young girl's mouth.

As he removed his cock from her mouth, his semen dripped out of her mouth; she hadn't swallowed it, but then again she _was_ upside down.

"Would you let me down?" Asuka asked angrily, glaring at him.

The young boy turned her right way up and let her down. "Damn I totally didn't expect that, I was so close too, but of course Asuka you win again," he said a little disappointed, pulling his pants back up.

The young girl spat out Shinji's cum and wiped the remainder of his fluid off her face. "If that's what made those waffles taste good, I think my tastebuds must have died!" Asuka remarked.

Shinji chuckled at that comment. But his laughter was short-lived as another presence entered the room.

"Why are you two still making such a racket?" Misato said angrily.

Both teens jumped at the voice and turned to see the purple-haired woman standing in the hallway.

"I don't really care what you do, but I'm tired and I wanna sleep for the rest of the day, so stop making so much noise," Misato said turning back around.

After hearing her door close they waited for a few minutes just to be sure and turned to face each other again. "You know it's a good thing she didn't walk in earlier," Shinji said in relief.

"You know it's a good thing I didn't decide to bite your balls off! Next time you pull a stunt like that, I won't be so forgiving," she said menacingly, before entering the bathroom and closing the door.

Shinji just looked at the closed door smiling. He couldn't help feeling happy that he had just received his first blowjob since the memory loss. With Misato in her bedroom and Asuka in the bathroom the residence was pretty quiet. The young boy looked at his watch and saw there was still some time left before they should go to sleep. He decided he would just wait for Asuka to get out and do something with her. It didn't take long to hear a flush, followed by water running and finally the door opening. As the redhead came out, the male eva pilot brought her into a kiss.

"Oww" Shinji yelped as he felt his hair being pulled.

Releasing his hair the young girl averted her eyes. "You know Shinji, I suppose it wasn't that bad. I guess I could…do it for you sometimes, I mean you do the same for me and I'm going to be your wife so it can't hurt" Asuka said blushing a little.

Shinji hugged his fiancée tightly; she always acted so cute when she was embarrassed. "You wanna do something Asuka? I don't feel like going to sleep now" Shinji asked.

"I don't feel like going out now, we could watch television together I suppose," she suggested.

"Good idea we haven't watched something together in a while, I wonder if there's anything worth watching on though" Shinji replied.

"What does it matter? You'll be spending time with me, isn't that enough?" Asuka said smugly.

"Quite right" Shinji said smirking.

With that the young boy picked up the redhead carrying her traditional style to the couch in the living room.

"You know I'm pretty sure I can walk to the couch thank you" Asuka said annoyed. But deep down inside, the redhead secretly revelled in being carried by Shinji.

The male eva pilot set her down on the couch after which he grabbed the T.V remote and sat down next to the girl. Asuka held out her hand expectantly and Shinji reluctantly handed her the remote.

"Thank you Liebling" Asuka said sweetly, taking the remote and switching on the television.

"Liebling?" Shinji asked curious, having never heard Asuka call him that.

"Don't you know some German? I mean you knew what 'Ich Liebe Dich' meant" Asuka said a little surprised. How else would he know how to say 'I love you' in German other than learning German by himself?

"Umm is it 'lover'?" Shinji asked.

Asuka giggled. "Well that's a pretty good guess I suppose. But you can find out for yourself" she answered.

The young boy snuggled up to the redhead as they sat there on the couch. After switching through channels to find a decent program on the television, Asuka put down the remote. The young girl put her arms around the boy snuggled up against her and they shared each other's warmth as they sat there watching together. Shinji couldn't help noticing Asuka's scent as he sat with her; she smelt pleasant. Her magnificent red hair was splayed out over them and he enjoyed the nice tickling sensation she gave him when she shifted position.

Moving his eyes back to the screen, Shinji could see they were watching some movie about a magical ring and massive battles with men and monsters, but honestly he really wasn't paying much attention. Soon the images became blurred as the male eva pilot slowly fell asleep.

* * *

Shinji awoke slowly as something next to him shifted position. Momentarily confused as to why he felt so warm, he opened his eyes gradually, taking in the light steadily. Not surprisingly, the young girl he had fallen asleep next to had him completely bound by her legs and arms. Her head was resting on his shoulder and her warm breath could be felt across his neck. The young boy looked down at her sleeping face and smiled; he loved how peaceful she was in her sleep.

Moving his free arm without waking the redhead he stroked her hair. A content smile could be seen plastered on the young girl's face as she felt his comforting hand. Deciding to be a little cheeky he moved his hand down to her skirt. Reaching under her skirt he moved his hand to her most sensitive spot. A little confused at first, he then remembered she hadn't been wearing any underwear when she went to watch with him.

'Oh so she trusts me enough to fall asleep next to me without any panties on?' Shinji thought devilishly.

The young boy very lightly stroked her slit, eliciting a soft 'mmm' from the redhead and making her move a little. The male eva pilot very much enjoyed sexually stimulating her in her sleep because she behaved so much more timid. Increasing the friction a little, the young girl began to moan more erotically, her facial expression becoming a little anxious. Freeing his other hand Shinji gently fondled Asuka's breast, all the while continuing to stimulate her private region.

"No stop…we can't do that ahhh…we're too young Shinji" she let out, still asleep.

The young boy was finding it difficult to hold himself back; she was just so damn cute. Pushing his finger in slightly Asuka clung onto him even tighter, moaning girlishly. The young boy couldn't help chuckling; her reaction was so funny. However he stopped all his actions, picked up the young girl and carried her with him to her room.

"Mmm Shinji, I love you too…" she said tenderly.

At this Shinji kissed Asuka on the lips, finally waking up the sleeping girl. It took her a few moments to realise what was happening and she forcefully parted from Shinji's kiss. The sudden movement as well as Asuka loosening her grip on the boy caused Shinji to drop her with a loud thump. The annoyed redhead looked up at him with a glare.

"What are you doing taking advantage of me while I'm asleep?" Asuka said irritated, rubbing her backside.

"You fell asleep without your underwear on, it was a temptation I couldn't resist" he replied sticking his tongue out.

"That's the last time I trust you dummkopf!" she shouted at him.

"Yeah yeah, we should get ready for school" Shinji said dismissing her comment.

"You better not forget to make breakfast or our lunches" Asuka said standing up.

As the young girl took a step she felt dizzy for a moment, almost causing her to trip over. Immediately Shinji had moved over to her. "Are you alright Asuka?" he asked concerned.

"I'm fine, just get to work Ikari," she said pushing him away and walking off to her room.

The male eva pilot looked after her a little puzzled but shrugged it off. He turned around and went to the kitchen ready to make breakfast, knowing it wasn't a good idea to delay. Taking out the ingredients and materials he required, he soon set to work making the breakfast. As the young boy was preparing the meal, Misato had woken up and made her way to the kitchen. The Major went straight for the fridge and took out a beer. Draining the can in seconds, Misato then screamed out her morning call. It never ceased to amaze Shinji how beer could work like coffee.

Instantly the half-asleep woman had turned into a very energetic one and proceeded over to Shinji. The purple haired woman smiled and brought the young boy into a big hug, squeezing the life out of him.

"Get off him Misato" a certain redhead said irately.

"Why? Are you jealous?" Misato asked teasingly.

"No you're killing him. I want him to finish making breakfast" Asuka replied.

The Major turned to see Shinji's face turning blue and his arms trying to pry Misato's arms off of him. Reluctantly the purple-haired woman let go of the poor boy and he quickly resumed preparing breakfast. Both Misato and Asuka sat down at the dining table, waiting for Shinji to finish making their meal. As he had started quickly it wasn't long till the young boy had finished preparing the food and set down the meals on the table.

Shinji then joined the two girls at the table and began to eat with them. A little bored the young boy smiled cheekily and lightly kicked Asuka under the table while he was eating. The young girl shot her head up and looked at her fiancé suspiciously, before dismissing it as her imagination. After a while Shinji once again moved his leg and gently kicked his fiancée. This time the redhead shot the young boy a glare, as if daring him to do it again. Shinji pretended not to notice as he was 'busy' easting his breakfast.

Unable to hold himself back the male eva pilot brought his leg up kicking the redhead once again. This time Asuka was ready for it and she grabbed his leg with hers, trapping it. Despite this Shinji still continued to look down at his meal, pretending it wasn't him. A little confused, Asuka looked to Misato who was also concentrating on her meal. Smiling cruelly, she devised a plan to work out who it really was. Reaching down she pinched Shinji's leg as hard as she could.

The sudden sharp pain in his leg caused the young boy to jump in his seat giving away his actions. At once the redhead began kicking Shinji back and a furious battle began under the table between their legs. Both of them refused to say anything as they manoeuvred about in their seats trying to avoid each other's kicks while also taking every chance they got to score a hit on the other.

By now the table had began to shake constantly from all their movements and Misato stood up abruptly from her chair extremely annoyed.

"Would you stop behaving like such children? Seriously this is so stupid" Misato shouted at them.

Both of them stopped their actions immediately and turned to face the Major.

"He/She started it!" they both shouted at the same time both pointing at the other.

The purple-haired woman just shook her head in disbelief and walked off to her room mumbling incoherently. Asuka gave Shinji another glare and one last kick before finishing her meal and standing up.

"You better make those lunches soon and no more silly behaviour from you either" Asuka said steadfastly before moving off to her room.

Alone again Shinji proceeded to make both his and Asuka's bentos. The young boy began to think over recent events as he did his work. After the battle with the Mass Production Evas, Asuka's Unit 02 had gone out of power. Somewhere during the battle her umbilical cable had been cut. Shinji's Unit 01, however, had been operating on its S2 Engine and so it hadn't run out of power. As such Shinji had to carry Unit 02 back to Nerv, which wasn't easy as there wasn't much of Nerv left or Tokyo-3 for that matter.

Luckily Rei and Touji had been picked up by Nerv medical teams during the battle with the Mass Production Evas. Shinji had felt guilty for leaving them behind and only making sure Asuka was okay, but then again he didn't know where they were and with all the rubble and debris around, there was a high probability he could accidentally step on their entry plugs. It turned out Asuka was fine, but he had expected so.

The two teens had then made their way back to the command centre, sadly noticing the many bodies of Nerv and JSSDF alike strewn about. It was unfortunate that it had come down to this, but they knew they had prevented many more deaths. Arriving at the command centre the two eva pilots were immediately met with congratulations and applause. Misato herself had gone and hugged them as usual.

Soon the big news had got around that the commander of Nerv, Shinji's father, was dead. This came as a shocking surprise to the two eva pilots, the almighty infallible commander of Nerv was gone. The cause of death was a bullet wound to the head; obviously someone had taken him out. The person responsible was unknown though. With the commander gone and sub commander reclining, responsibility was handed over to Misato.

After all the greetings and warm exchanges the pilots were then escorted down to the medical bay. Ritsuko insisted that she check up on them, she didn't want anything happening to them after they had just saved the world. The two teens wanted nothing more than to just go home and relax, however they reluctantly agreed, slightly annoyed. But then again their apartment was probably destroyed anyway.

After arriving at the medical bay, they were greeted by the sight of both Touji and Rei. Immediately Shinji went over and hugged both of them, glad that nothing had happened to them. Asuka on the other hand awkwardly shook Touji's hand and gave a nod of approval to the blue haired girl. It appeared Touji was absolutely fine; he had received a few bruises and nothing more.

Rei on the other hand had been stabbed by the fake Lance of Longinus and it appeared as though her actual torso had also received some damage. Ritsuko had said that she was in critical condition when they had first found her, however as they brought her to the medical bay she seemed to have improved and even now her wound was healing itself much faster than usual. The doctor was unable to explain it, but Rei was going to survive.

The only person unaccounted for was Kaji and Shinji told Ritsuko that he was still down where Unit 01 was before. Shinji did not want to disclose the story with everyone at the moment for the sake of Kaji.

After all these events had transpired the citizens of Tokyo-3 all returned. It seemed the people were grateful for the evacuation and the effort Nerv put in to defeat Seele. As thanks many volunteered in work to help in rebuilding the grand city. Without having to pay much and with the great enthusiasm of the workers the reconstruction of Tokyo-3 went rather fast. Shinji and Asuka's, or should I say Misato's, apartment was rebuilt in the first week and after having been extremely busy the entire time being debriefed and helping with reparations, the two stayed there that day. As celebration Asuka 'gave him a good time' in the new apartment that night.

Shinji recalled with a blush the intensity of that night together; she had been so wild. But ever since then, she had constantly refused to do it again until recently she promised they would do it again.

Whenever they could they used Shinji to pilot Unit 01, as it required no power, to help in the reconstruction. He mostly just cleared rubble and debris out of the way, but helped with heavy lifting too. The shops, restaurants, cinemas, residences were all rebuilt in no time. The school was also rebuilt and they started to go back to school and were happy to be with their friends again. Hikari was proud of Touji helping the other eva pilots in the final battle and Kensuke was jealous over the jock, wishing he had been chosen to help as well. It had been about a month and a half since the battle with the mass production evas and Shinji was amazed to see how quickly Tokyo-3 had been rebuilt.

The young boy was broken out of his reverie when he felt a sharp jab in his ribs. Surprised Shinji turned around to see Asuka looking at him annoyed.

"Stop spacing out boy" she said a little tense.

"Err…I already finished the lunches" Shinji replied.

"Then dress up already you baka!" Asuka shouted at him, shoving him out of the kitchen.

"Geez so cranky already?" Shinji said in disbelief.

"Who do you think the cause is?" Asuka snapped back at him.

Deciding it was better not to answer the question, the male eva pilot hurriedly went to his room to change into his school uniform. After dressing up he took his bag and looked around the room to check if he forgot anything. Not finding anything he exited his room. Walking back to the kitchen, he packed his bento into his bag, noticing that Asuka's bento was already gone. The young boy then traversed over to the front door and saw the redhead was already there. Noticing Shinji coming towards her, Asuka turned to face him.

"About time you slow poke, your snail's pace is starting to get annoying" she remarked.

"Are you angry with me Asuka? Or you just in a bad mood?" Shinji asked worried about her behaviour.

"Nothing's wrong! Let's just go to school already" she replied, grabbing his hand.

The two eva pilots went through the front door, closing and locking it behind them. The redhead pulled Shinji down the stairs with her and they exited the apartment. The brilliant sun once again shone over the rebuilt city of Tokyo-3 and onto the two teens. It was good to see people up and about, good to see all the activity in this thriving city. It was amazing how everything had come together, how everyone was able to return even after all that had happened.

Shinji and Asuka began their walk towards the school. Despite her earlier behaviour, Asuka wasn't in a rush to get to school and so the two walked calmly down the footpath towards their destination. Occasionally people would smile, wave or nod their head at the eva pilots as they recognised them. It would seem people really were grateful to those who had saved Tokyo-3.

Soon the couple had arrived at the front gates of the school. There were still a few students outside the school building, as classes hadn't started yet. The two eva pilots made their way through the front gates and into the school building. Heading down the corridor they moved towards their classroom, always happy to see the amount of students at the school.

Arriving at their classroom door, the redhead opened it and the two entered the room. Recently every time the two eva pilots entered the room all the students would turn to look at them and give them a nod before returning to their previous activities. Shinji still wasn't used to it, but Asuka loved the attention. It didn't take long for Kensuke and Touji to come over. Hikari was currently busy giving instructions to some other students. Having had time to get used to Shinji's and Asuka's relationship, Touji was able to accept the redhead as Shinji's girlfriend. But he would still throw jokes at her or call her a demon, although most of the time Hikari kept him in line.

Surprisingly it would seem Kensuke sought after the blue haired eva pilot and even managed to hold a conversation with her. With further encouragement from Shinji and the fact that he was Shinji's friend, Rei was able to express herself a little to the spectacled boy. Neither Rei's nor Kensuke's intentions were clear, but it seemed each was at least a little interested in the other.

"Greetings enslaved one" Touji said to Shinji, grinning.

Shinji snickered a little, while Kensuke nudged Touji in the gut. As always Asuka seemed to take offence from the jock's comments.

"You better shut up, or _you_ will be the enslaved one!" Asuka retorted.

"I'd like to see you try" Touji said provokingly.

"It'd be such a waste of my efforts and you wouldn't even make a good slave. I don't think you can do anything right" Asuka replied glaring.

"Hey Asuka come on, no need to get angry" Shinji said trying to calm her down.

"Don't bother Shinji, a demon is always angry," Touji commented.

Asuka went and smacked the boy over the head. "Are you really that stupid to go and piss me off more?" she said annoyed.

"What was that for?" Touji said rubbing his head. "You need to get the sand out of your vagina honestly!" Touji remarked.

Asuka's eyes glared menacingly and Shinji was in fear for his friend's life. The male eva pilot decided to turn the redhead's wrath towards himself.

"Now that you mention it, it was pretty coarse last time" Shinji said jokingly.

Both Touji and Kensuke let out a laugh at his comment. "Shinji you dog, what have you been up to?" Touji said still chuckling.

"Just what the hell do you think you're implying Ikari?" Asuka said slapping the young boy hard.

"Relax Asuka, I was just joking" Shinji replied, rubbing his sore cheek.

"You can just go to hell Ikari!" she said shouting at him, turning around and walking off to Hikari.

Shinji usually wouldn't pay heed to her bad temper, but she looked like she was about to cry. Something was strange about her today; did something happen to upset her? Was this morning's incident the cause? The male eva pilot couldn't really think of what would put her into her current mood and resolved to ask her at the lunchbreak. Touji just patted Shinji on the shoulder as the redhead walked off.

"I don't know how you can stand her" Touji remarked.

"You wouldn't understand. And Touji no more jokes today, I think she's upset about something" Shinji said firmly.

"Fine fine" the jock replied.

"So Kensuke, speaking of girlfriends, me and Touji both have one. How's your luck going with Rei?" Shinji said grinning.

"Who said I was trying to get with Rei?" Kensuke answered.

"Oh, so how come you keep talking to her?" Shinji asked suspiciously.

"Can't I?" Kensuke replied.

"I saw you talking to her alone on the rooftop the other day, just spill the beans already" Touji demanded.

"Fine, I'll tell you how the conversation went…" Kensuke started.

_Kensuke approached the blue haired albino a little nervously. Upon noticing him Rei turned to face the young boy._

"_Why did you request of me to proceed up here to meet with you?" Rei asked._

"_I just wanted to talk to you" Kensuke answered._

"_We can converse in various other places, even over the phone if you required privacy. Why here in particular?" Rei replied._

"_I wanted to talk in person," Kensuke said growing more nervous._

"_Very well, what is it that you wished to speak to me about?" Rei asked._

_The young boy found it very difficult to talk with the eva pilot and her seemingly impartial tone._

"_Err…you see there's this new movie that's come out and I wanted to see it…" he said pausing._

"_How is this relevant to me?" Rei asked, not realising how cold her words sounded._

_The military otaku mustered up all his courage and resolve and went for it._

"_I would like you to come see the movie with me" Kensuke stated, relieved he finally said it._

"_If you wish to see the film with other people, there are much more convenient people" Rei said, clearly not getting the hint._

"_No no, I want to see the movie with you specifically" Kensuke replied._

"_If you want to have my opinion of this film, I will watch the film when I have time" Rei said simply._

"_I want to see a movie with you Rei and no one else, because I want to spend time with you" Kensuke said, getting slightly annoyed. He didn't think she could misunderstand him this time._

"_You are spending time with me right now are you not?" Rei asked, completely confused._

_The young boy just looked at the blue haired girl in disbelief. Anybody would have praised him for his courage; anybody would have said he tried; yet here this girl missed all the clues. Supposing he had nothing left to lose, Kensuke decided to try one more time._

"_Look Rei, I can see you don't understand the purpose of this, but please at least come with me just this once and you might come to understand" Kensuke said, hoping she would agree._

"_Very well, I shall think upon this. It is true that I do not understand several things and I trust that you have no ill intentions. I will give my reply when I come to a decision" Rei answered back._

"_Thank you, that's fine with me" Kensuke said happily. "That's all I wanted to talk to you about, so see ya" the young boy said waving at her and walking off…_

"…So you see, nothing's going on, I just wanted to go see a movie" Kensuke finished.

"You're still gonna say that bullshit after telling us that? Come on how did she reply?" Touji asked.

"She hasn't said anything to me yet" Kensuke said a little disappointed.

"Don't worry about it Kensuke. She said she's going to give you a reply, if she didn't want to go she would have told you already" Shinji said reassuringly.

"I suppose, but even if she agrees, I don't think she'll understand the point and will never do it again" Kensuke said a little downcast.

"Have a little faith man," Touji said putting his arm around the otaku's shoulder.

"But it's so hard to express yourself towards her" Kensuke replied.

"Take an example from Ikari, he got together with Asuka. If _that's_ possible then surely Rei shouldn'- oww" Touji said as he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his ear.

"I heard you were saying nasty things to Asuka, I'm sure I've told you stop saying those things _darling_" Hikari said a little annoyed.

"But, but…" Touji started.

"No buts" Hikari said interrupting him. Releasing her hold on his ear she looked sternly at him. "I expect you to apologise to her and make sure you do it today" she said before turning around and walking off.

Whatever the jock wanted to say in reply was cut off by their teacher entering the classroom. At once the students all went to their desks followed by Hikari's "Rise! Bow! Sit!"

Shinji quickly began typing a message on his laptop to send to Asuka.

_Hey Asuka I need to talk to you, so meet up with me at lunch please,_

_Shinji_

The young boy waited for a reply from his fiancée, but received none. The male eva pilot was sure he had sent the message and confirmed it by checking his 'sent' folder. Shinji looked up at Asuka to see her looking straight ahead with her laptop closed. Was she purposely not replying? Well he supposed he could just go up to her when the bell rang, hopefully she wouldn't ignore him.

Sighing, the young boy lay his head back down on his desk; it seemed Seele's attack hadn't changed the dullness of his teacher's lecture. After all the information about the real Second Impact got out, it seemed the teacher took it to heart to give a lecture about this new topic. Having nothing better to do, Shinji looked over at Rei. The blue haired girl was occasionally glancing at Kensuke with confused eyes; it was like she couldn't come to a decision within herself. The young boy smiled at her behaviour, finally after years of her emotionless façade, it was starting to break.

Shinji tried his best to pass the time, but he felt so restless; he really wanted to talk to Asuka and find out what was wrong. The young boy found it impossible to pay attention to the teacher and so he began impatiently tapping his pencil under his desk. Soon he found himself tapping a little rhythm. Looking around the room Shinji saw that no one had really noticed yet and the teacher continued on without hesitance. Completely bored the young boy began to tap the rhythm with his pencil a little louder and was glad to hear someone on the other side of the classroom copy him.

Tapping again, another person returned it and soon more people had caught on to the little game. One would tap a rhythm and other people would follow suit tapping the same rhythm, it would travel around the class making it impossible to determine the source. At first not everyone noticed it, but as it continued to progress and more and more people joined in, the tapping became an incessant noise.

The teacher stopped what he was saying and looked around the room unable to figure out who it was. The sound had come from all over the classroom and everyone was tapping their pencil under their desk, so it was almost impossible to see who was doing it. As the teacher started again, the tapping game begun again. This time the teacher slammed a book down on his desk.

"I ask that you refrain from making all that noise and pay attention" the teacher said a little annoyed.

Shinji had had his fun so he decided to stop; besides the class was almost over. Soon the bell rang and the young boy sighed in relief; finally he could talk to Asuka. The male eva pilot wasted no time in getting up and moving over to the redhead. It seemed she didn't want to speak to him as she also got up swiftly and moved to the exit of the classroom. However Shinji was too quick and he caught her arm. The redhead just turned around and faced him with a glare.

The other students piled out of the classroom, leaving Shinji and Asuka alone in the room. As both of them were silent they could hear the faint sound of laughter and chatting coming from outside. Shinji knew he had to speak up first as Asuka wouldn't.

"Didn't you get my message Asuka?" Shinji asked.

"I didn't think it was worth my time to stay and listen to you" Asuka answered.

"Come on Asuka, I can see you're upset, why don't you tell me what's wrong?" Shinji suggested.

"Says you, who can't say what's bothering you" Asuka retorted.

"Well that's a bit different" Shinji replied.

"Always full of bullshit Ikari!" she said angrily.

"Asuka…" he started only to see the girl turn away from him, crossing her arms.

Shinji slowly walked up behind her, putting his arms around the girl, embracing her gently. The young boy felt no resistance from the redhead and so began nuzzling her neck. At this the female eva pilot unfolded her arms and Shinji moved his hands up to cup her breasts, fondling them softly. A gust of wind then came through the window blowing Asuka's hair about.

"Give it a rest Shinji" she said slightly irritated.

In response the young boy moved one of his hands down her body and under her skirt. At this the redhead moved away and turned to face the boy.

"None of that! Apparently my vagina is full of sand" Asuka said sarcastically.

"I was joking Asuka, your vagina is the most wonderful thing I've ever felt" Shinji said earnestly.

"It is a _privilege_ to even just LOOK at my vagina, to insult it, you forfeit any privilege you had" Asuka said resolutely.

"What about your promise?" Shinji asked a little amused at her behaviour.

"You should have thought about that before you opened your mout-" she said getting cut off by Shinji's lips.

The young boy wasted no time in deepening the kiss on the surprised redhead. Moving his hand under her skirt again, he pulled her panties down. Pushing her down onto a desk, he parted with her, reaching down to completely remove her undergarment.

"Stop it Shinji! I said you can't!" she shouted at him angrily.

Normally the male eva pilot would overlook her typical anger, but with her behaviour today his fear of breaking his vow kicked in and he stopped immediately. The young boy moved away from Asuka a little unsteadily and she looked up at him, utterly confused at his sudden change in demeanour. The young girl decided to let go of her frustration and find out what was bothering her fiancé, after all she knew he had been just teasing her.

"You're acting a little strange Shinji…what the hell is up with you?" Asuka asked, a little calmer than before.

The young boy stayed silent for a while wondering what to say. He couldn't really tell her what was bothering him, but Misato's conversation yesterday still rang inside his head. It was true what she had said, just now was proof that this hidden guilt inside him would constantly eat at him.

"_Asuka is worried about you, if you try to talk to her, she'll listen"_

Shinji sighed and turned to face the young girl. "You know Asuka, there has been something on my mind, but I didn't know how to express it or even if I should" he started.

At his sudden serious tone the redhead sat up to listen attentively; she was sure he was about to confess whatever had been making him act a little odd. "Hurry up baka, I'm listening" Asuka said encouraging him.

The young boy took a few breaths before continuing.

"It's just that many times you tell me to stop…doing things to you. And well I get worried about myself…sometimes I can get really angry. I don't know if I can control myself all the time…" Shinji said trying to express what he felt in words.

"You're not making much sense Shinji" Asuka remarked.

"Sometimes I don't know if I go too far, sometimes I don't know if you're kidding or not. What if I do something bad to you without realising it?" Shinji said trying to make himself clearer.

"I still don't get what point you're trying to make" Asuka said growing frustrated at his explanation.

"What if…because I was angry, angry enough not to be able to stop myself…what if I…I raped you Asuka" Shinji finished quietly.

'So that's it!' Asuka thought. Shinji had made many advances towards her, but she would refuse many of them and he was worried about raping her in frustration or something along those lines. It was a little bit strange that he was thinking about this, or that it would make him behave like he had, but then again Shinji always worried about silly things. The young girl looked straight back at Shinji to give him her reply.

"To think that you were worried about something like that all this time, you really are a baka. I personally think it is preposterous that you would rape me, I would definitely make sure you knew I didn't want it, furthermore I don't think I could make you angry enough to do so either, though you never know" she said smiling a little.

The male eva pilot stayed silent, unable to respond.

"Though I can see you obviously think it's plausible so I'll tell you what I would do. If you were to rape me Shinji for whatever reason, I would kick your ass and forbid you to touch me for a year!" she said smacking him across the head.

"But…" Shinji began a little confused. 'That was it?' he thought.

"What you think I'd let you get away with it?" Asuka asked incredulously.

"No, that's not what I mean, it's just…you would stay with me?" Shinji asked.

"Where would I find another baka like you? Geez Shinji you've already faked your own death and I've forgiven you, a couple will always have ups and downs, albeit rape is a _little_ extreme, but still. I'm not stupid Shinji, I know if you were to rape me it wouldn't be fully intentional and I know that I can sometimes be…'difficult'," she explained.

"But nothing you could do would make you deserve that and it's always my choice" Shinji argued.

"Look Shinji, stop thinking about these crazy extreme situations. Unfortunately we are engaged to be married, you must stay with me regardless of what happens and the same goes for me" the redhead said smiling, "as long as you're mine, it doesn't really matter about the rest. I wouldn't let anyone else have sex with me but you, so if _you_ raped me, then it's not so bad" Asuka said getting a little annoyed at her fiancé's constant questioning.

"It's different when you think about it hypothetically and when you actually experience it. What if we weren't together and I did it, what then?" Shinji asked.

"Mein Gott you stupid baka, what more do you want me to say? I would forgive you, I would stay with you and I would still…love you. Why are you so damn insecure about this anyway? Stop thinking about 'what if this' and 'what if that,' it doesn't matter what could happen, it doesn't matter if you did it while we weren't together, it doesn't change how I feel. I have experienced much worse things in my life, we will deal with whatever happens as it comes along. Now I've given you my reply on this topic so just get over it already" Asuka finished determinedly.

The male eva pilot just stood there stunned, unable to believe what he had heard. To say things which such conviction; Shinji knew her feelings for him were solid. After hearing her words a weight that had burdened him for quite a while was finally lifted. It was true he should stop worrying about it, it was in the past and he couldn't change what he had done. Furthermore he and Asuka were now together and that was all he should think about.

Seeing the tension from her fiancé's face disappear, Asuka softened her face a little. "I can't believe you had so much frustration bottled up inside you Shinji. Next time you have something to discuss, just say it, no matter how stupid it is. You can always count on me to give you an honest answer" Asuka said sticking her tongue out at him.

Unable to hold back, Shinji embraced the young girl as tightly as he could and began sobbing. The redhead just sighed and rubbed his back comfortingly. Asuka was relieved that her fiancé had finally let it all out.

"I'm glad you're moved by my words and all, but I've been sitting on this desk with my panties down the entire time and this room is a little drafty" Asuka said shifting a little.

The young boy moved off of her and wiped his eyes dry, looking at her cheekily. "Hmm I can make it so you won't feel the draftiness at all" he said playfully.

"Already back to your perverted self Ikari?" she teased.

Moving her hands down seductively she completely removed her panties and threw them at the boy's head.

"Well I have a promise to fulfil fortunately for you and as such I will let you engage in the act of _consensual _sex with me. But make sure to be quick of course, I don't want the class to come in while we're having sex" Asuka said opening her legs.

Shinji took a whiff of his fiancée's panties before taking them off his head, pocketing them and moving in between the redhead's legs. Asuka wrapped her legs around the boy's waist as he moved down to kiss her. Moving quickly he soon found his hand under her skirt, rubbing her private region vigorously. The young girl shivered at the contact and moaned into the kiss.

The young girl parted so that she could speak. "Don't tease me Shinji…you know what gets me wet really fast…just do mmmmm" she let out as he began to rub her clitoris as well.

The redhead couldn't hold back her erotic noises; she hadn't felt this sensation for a while. Shinji made sure to stimulate her thoroughly, using one hand for her breasts making sure her nipples were adequately satisfied while his other hand made sure her cunt also received proper attention.

Deciding she was wet enough, the young boy pushed Asuka down flat on the desk and unbuckled his pants, pulling them down with his boxers. Positioning his erect cock at her entrance, Shinji grabbed onto the redhead's shoulders for support before plunging into her depths without hesitating. The redhead cried out in ecstasy at the penetration, her face set into an expression of pure rapture. The young girl held the boy towards her even tighter with her legs as he continually filled her with his cock.

The desk he was fucking her on began to creak and wobble as he continually thrust into her keen wet pussy.

"This desk…is going…to fucking…break" Asuka said between thrusts.

"You're finally admitting you're heavy Asuka?" Shinji said jokingly.

"I would so…kill you right now…" Asuka said, finding it hard to talk.

The young boy grunted in exertion as he was getting close to cumming and was struggling to hold it in. In a last ditch effort the male eva pilot began to ram his cock up her vagina with all his strength. The redhead cried out even louder; it was a wonder that no one had heard the activity going on inside this classroom.

Unable to stop himself Shinji cummed inside Asuka, his hot sticky semen filling up her insides. No sooner had the boy released his load when the young girl followed suit and orgasmed intensely, screaming out Shinji's name at full volume. Both teens panted heavily as they went down from their climax, the sweat they perspired had been absorbed by their clothes. The young boy moved off Asuka to allow her to sit up.

"Damn that felt good, why have I been putting this off for so long?" Asuka commented.

"You're asking me?" Shinji asked bewildered.

"Quiet you" Asuka snapped. "Give me back my panties already" she ordered.

The male eva pilot pulled his pants and boxers up, covering up his member once again. Shinji then pulled out the redhead's underwear from his pocket, handing it to her. Asuka wasted no time in grabbing her underwear and putting them back on. The young girl flung her hair back before getting off the desk. She stood up, wobbling a bit before she steadied herself and straightened her skirt.

"You know, to tell you the truth, I was feeling shitty today, I suppose I made you worry didn't I?" Asuka said smirking. "But that felt refreshing, it definitely got my blood flowing again and I feel much better now"

"And I thought I had done something again" Shinji said chuckling.

"Oh if you're doing something wrong, I'll be sure to tell you straight away" Asuka said grinning cheekily. The young girl turned to look at the clock. "Hmm there's still a few minutes before the end of lunch, thank god we finished quickly"

"What's the big deal? It would only confirm that you are mine" Shinji said smugly.

"Don't be so conceited Ikari, whereas I don't mind kissing in public, fondling and sex is just too embarrassing" Asuka stated.

"You know I just realised we didn't eat our lunches. There's not enough time now though" Shinji said sighing.

"Whose fault is that baka?" Asuka snapped at him.

Grinning, the male eva pilot moved towards his fiancée, bringing his lips onto hers. Shinji then wrapped his arms around the redhead, pulling her closer as he deepened the kiss. The world around them disappeared as the two kissed, momentarily forgetting all their problems and just enjoying the other's affection.

* * *

It was almost the end of lunchtime and Kensuke was heading back to the classroom. However the young boy noticed the blue haired albino walking towards him. Stopping in his tracks Kensuke just looked at her surprised. When Rei finally walked up to him she addressed him.

"Aida, I have been thinking about your proposal and have come to a decision" Rei started.

"What's your decision?" Kensuke asked holding his breath.

"I accept your proposal and will accompany you to the cinema" Rei answered.

With that the female eva pilot walked off without saying another word while the young boy allowed a smile to form on his face.

* * *

Shinji and Asuka were still kissing passionately when the bell rang. They were so wrapped up in each other they hadn't heard it. It came as a surprise to the students when they saw the two eva pilots smooching each other; it wasn't often they publicly displayed affection. No one said a word, not daring to disturb the redhead.

"Ahem! Class is starting!" Hikari said interrupting the two.

The two jumped, a little shocked. They both blushed as they realised all the students were watching them. The two eva pilots quickly moved off of each other, with Asuka going straight to her desk.

"Sorry didn't hear the bell Hikari" Shinji replied, bowing.

"Just go to your seat Shinji, class is about to begin" Hikari stated.

No sooner had the class representative said this when the teacher walked into the classroom and everyone fell silent. Hikari stood up and said her usual "Rise! Bow! Sit!" followed by the teacher resuming where he left off before the lunch break.

Shinji sat in his chair smiling slightly; he had finally gotten his deep ridden guilt off his chest and had a little fun with Asuka as a bonus, today was definitely looking up. Unfortunately though he still had to endure this wearisome lecture, even if he learnt some things occasionally, it was far too dreary to make up for it. Looking at his laptop, he saw that someone had sent him a message.

_What were you doing all lunch with Asuka :D?_

_Touji_

Sighing, Shinji didn't even bother replying to his friend's teasing, even though this time he actually _had_ done something. The young boy then looked over at the topic of discussion and noticed the redhead was looking a little unwell; she was holding her forehead and she looked a little pale.

'She was fine just a few moments ago, is she sick?' Shinji thought, thinking back to this morning.

Apparently the teacher had noticed as well as he addressed her. "Miss Langley, are you feeling well?" the teacher asked.

The redhead in question decided she wouldn't pass up a chance to escape from this mind-numbing session and she wasn't feeling that good anyhow. "Not particularly" Asuka answered straightening up a bit.

"Then you may go to the infirmary and choose someone to come with you" the teacher replied.

"Shinji" was all she said as she stood up slowly.

Shinji stood up as well and walked over to Asuka's desk. The two eva pilots then walked over to the classroom door together and a few people whispering to each other could be heard. Opening the door the couple exited the room and closed the door behind them. Shinji turned to walk towards the infirmary, however soon realised Asuka was heading in the opposite direction.

"Where are you going Asuka?" Shinji asked.

"To the toilet, I don't feel like being nursed" Asuka answered.

"But aren't you sick?" Shinji asked concerned.

"I just feel shitty and I wanted to get out of that class, I'll be fine" Asuka replied.

Shinji couldn't say he wanted to stay any longer either and didn't really see a point to argue with her now. "Ok, but tell me if you start feeling bad alright?" Shinji requested.

"Yes yes, let's go" Asuka said pulling him towards the female toilets.

The two teens walked together, hand in hand down the corridor towards their destination. Upon arriving Shinji stood outside the door while Asuka went in to freshen up a little. The young boy insisted that the door stay slightly open just in case something happened as no one else had decided to come to the toilet at this time.

All was silent for a moment as the young boy stood there patiently. Suddenly he heard Asuka running and the sound of a door slamming open. Alarmed the male eva pilot opened the door and entered the bathroom. He soon heard the sound of retching coming from one of the cubicles and headed over to it. Inside the cubicle the sight of Asuka hunched over the toilet came into view. The redhead looked a little shocked; she totally had not been expecting it. Wiping her mouth she stood up unsteadily, supporting herself on the wall; her faced looked even paler than before.

"Are you ok Asuka?" Shinji asked.

"Stupid question of the year" Asuka replied sarcastically.

The young boy smiled a bit, seeing that she still had enough strength to tease him.

"Well what's wrong Asuka? You said you were feeling just a _little_ unwell" Shinji asked worried.

"I don't know, I was feeling sort of dizzy in class and just now I just had the sudden urge to vomit. Gosh I haven't felt this bad for a long time" Asuka answered.

"Well you were a little moody today…did you umm…have your period?" Shinji said quietly.

The young girl wasted no time in slapping Shinji, however in her current state it caused her to fall into the boy and he caught her.

"Are you trying to piss me off you baka? For your information I still haven't had my period yet and besides if I did, there's no way in hell I'd let you fuck me" Asuka shouted at him angrily.

"Well can you think of anything that could be causing this? Did you eat something off?" Shinji asked.

"No I can't think of anything that would make me feel sick" Asuka answered.

"Yeah besides your German stomach can handle anything, except LCL maybe, every time I swallow that by accident it makes me feel really sick" Shinji replied.

Asuka's eyes widened in sudden realisation. "LCL! LCL you fucking stupid moron! I can't believe you did this to me!" the redhead yelled at him, beating her fists against his chest.

"Calm down Asuka! What are you talking about?" Shinji said completely confused.

"How stupid are you? LCL acts as a contraceptive remember? We stopped piloting the Evangelions one week before that night in the apartment!" Asuka said in disbelief.

Only one thought went through Shinji's mind as the news was revealed.

'Holy shit'

THE END

* * *

Epilogue:

"You stupid baka! Why are you always so clumsy?" shouted a clearly irritated redheaded woman.

The atmosphere inside the house had suddenly become tense. The 'baka' in question looked up from his place on the floor smiling sheepishly.

"Come on Asuka, it's not that bad. I promise I'll clean it up" the brown haired man replied timidly.

"I couldn't care less about the mess on the floor! You spilt that coffee on me and one of my favourite dresses!" she shouted even louder as if to make sure her point got across.

Wincing from the pain in his ear, the man got up to confront his wife, but was interrupted by another redheaded girl, only this one was a lot younger.

"Daddy why does mummy always shout at you and call you baka?" the child asked innocently.

The man couldn't help chuckling as he gently patted his daughter on the head. Asuka, however, saw this as an opportunity to 'educate' her child.

"It's because he is one. He is the biggest moron to ever walk this planet," Asuka said smirking.

The young girl turned around to face her mother, her forehead creased in confusion.

"I think daddy's pretty cool and if he's so dumb why did you marry him?" asked the child curious, holding her father's arm.

The father thought it was best not to laugh out loud this time, in case he might feel his wife's hand across his cheek; it didn't stop him from smiling however. Though he could see this question had caught Asuka by surprise. Yet she soon recovered and looked down at her child smiling.

"Beats me. It just seemed like a good idea at the time" she said smiling smugly.

"Asuka!" the father said slightly annoyed.

"What is it Shinji?" she asked innocently.

"Don't lie to your daughter," he said.

"What are you talking about?" she asked pretending to be confused.

Shinji just sighed and let go of his daughter. The young man went over to the cupboard to take out some materials to clean the coffee that he had spilt on the floor. While Shinji was busy, Asuka bent down so that she was eye-level with her child.

"I'll tell you a secret," Asuka whispered to her daughter.

"K" the child replied, holding her hands behind her back.

"I married your father because I loved him and because he loved me, it's as simple as that. Don't worry about me calling him baka, it's my nickname for him. Now go and hug your dad and show him how much you love him," Asuka whispered.

"Sure mum!" the child said happily.

The child eagerly walked over to her father and tugged at his trouser leg. Shinji turned around and looked down at his daughter inquiringly.

"What is it Teri?" he asked.

"I just wanted to tell you that _I _love you very much," she said proudly, putting her hand on her chest.

Shinji smiled happily and bent down to hug his daughter warmly, kissing her on the forehead affectionately. The young girl giggled and Shinji let her run off around the house again. The young man then turned back around and took out the cleaning utensils he had found. Walking back over to his wife, he placed the equipment on the table and turned to face her.

"So what did you tell her?" asked Shinji curious.

"Nothing" Asuka replied smirking.

"Really?" he said moving closer to her.

"Really" she replied, poking him in the chest.

Shinji closed the distance between them and their lips met. Asuka put her arms around his neck, whilst he held her waist. As the couple deepened their kiss, Shinji's hand slowly began to move up her thigh.

"Ewww mum and dad are kissing again!" shouted a young boy. His hair was brown with streaks of red in it.

Shinji and Asuka instantly parted blushing.

"For that you're not getting any dinner Kyou!" Asuka shouted back at him.

"But that's so unfair!" the boy whined.

"Maybe it'll teach you to respect your parents," she said smiling arrogantly.

Unable to argue with his mother, Kyou walked off grumbling to himself. Shinji looked at his wife slightly amused.

"You don't need to starve our son just for that, besides maybe it was good he stopped us" he said teasing her.

"Please, as if I would let you do that right out in the open" Asuka said rolling her eyes.

"You never used to mind where we did it" he said seductively.

"Yeah but that was before we had three children" she said pushing him off her.

"Three?" he asked confused.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, you managed to get me pregnant a second time. Can't believe I have to go through it all over again" the redhead remarked sighing.

"Come on it's not so bad" he said playfully.

"Hah yeah, you're not the one who has to go through the pain of giving birth. It's bad enough that you kept calling me fat you bastard, I even had to push out two on my first pregnancy" she said giving him a glare.

"I didn't mean anything by it Asuka, I was just playing with you" Shinji replied grinning at her. "So when did you find out?" he asked.

"Just yesterday actually" she answered.

"Are you sure? How did you know?" Shinji inquired.

"What's with the twenty questions? You don't like talking about that subject" Asuka retorted.

"What do you mean?" Shinji said confused.

"Remember when you came home and saw me breastfeeding Teri and you fainted?" Asuka reminded.

"Come off it! I had never seen you do something like that in my life. Can't you just tell me?" Shinji said getting annoyed.

"Look I missed my period and so I took a pregnancy test, wala I knew I was pregnant. Now stop asking stupid questions" Asuka said with finality.

A silence formed between the two inside the kitchen. Shinji decided to use this time to clean up his mess while Asuka went and changed her clothes, putting her dirty ones in the wash. When the redhead finished she returned the kitchen to see her husband putting away the cleaning materials in the cupboard.

"Do you know what day it is today?" he asked suddenly serious, turning around to face her.

The expression on Asuka's face changed completely as she frowned slightly. She looked up at her husband with a hint of sorrow.

"Yeah how could I forget, we saved the world today. So when are we going to visit the graves?" she asked him.

"I was thinking straight after Rei arrives to babysit" Shinji suggested.

"You you know it still amazes me to see how motherly Rei is. Kensuke must be loving it" Asuka said smiling slightly.

"Mmm" was his response.

"Are you going to see your father's grave this year too?" she asked with a little spite.

"Yeah" he answered.

"I still can't understand why. That bastard doesn't deserve to have you visit his grave" she spat.

"Well he is my father and he did help us get back together after all" Shinji replied.

"What do you mean 'back' together? We never broke up on account of the fact we were never together before you faked your death and we've been together since" Asuka said perplexed.

"Sorry I meant he helped us get together" he said a little too quickly.

Asuka looked at the man suspiciously, after being his wife for all these years she could now tell when he was lying; his master ability had been beaten by her. As such the redhead could tell he was hiding something.

"Cut the bullshit Ikari, you tell me right now what you meant by that statement," she said threateningly.

"What do you mean?" he asked timidly.

"Don't 'what do you mean' me, you know precisely what I mean. I can't believe that you still had a secret that you 'forgot' to tell me. It's not nice to keep information from someone just because they can't remember it, especially if it's your wife!" Asuka said heatedly.

Shinji really didn't have a way out of this one, he had to say something. Racking his brain the young boy could think of nothing; karma had caught up to him at last.

"Errr, I need to go to the toilet," he said trying his best to sound sincere.

Asuka saw straight through it but decided she would let him anyway.

"Alright but once you finish, you're telling me what happened" she demanded.

"Ok ok" he said as he began walking off to the bathroom door.

His 'lovely' wife followed him on his journey to the toilet, well more like temporary escape from Asuka's wrath. Upon arriving at the bathroom, Shinji opened the door and entered inside, closing the door behind him. The young man looked about frantically wondering what the hell he was going to do. He momentarily considered climbing out the window, but then realised it was far too small for him to fit through. He sat down on the toilet and smiled weakly to himself.

'How do I get out of this one?' he thought.

* * *

End Notes: And there you go, I wonder what'll happen to Shinji ^^. So there's the end to Shinji and Asuka, for all those who are curious 'Liebling' just means 'darling' in German. I wonder who worked out that Asuka was pregnant before the toilet scene? Kudos to you if you did, I did leave hints everywhere. What did you guys think of Unit 01's activation hehe?

Anyways for those of you interested, I will be rewriting all the first chapters, something like 1-10 and perhaps editing the other chapters too if need be. The rewritten version will be written better and be more in character. Also after I finish rewriting the chapters I will post a new chapter after this containing my notes on this story as well as deleted/extra scenes removed from the original story. Also note that the name Teri comes from a story called 'Child of Love' written by Axel Terizaki, who was the one who first inspired me to read eva fics and so it's sort of a tribute to him.

Don't forget to review of course! This is my first Evangelion story and I want to know how I did, how good or bad the end was, anything you can think of about this story, so please review all you loyal readers :D. That's all from Deadlypole!

An extra note: There's an optional sequel being written by a fan and friend, titled 'Evangelion- The Armageddon Prophecy,' the current release date is unknown. I will make an update as to when it's published.

**Extra Extra Note: Now if you like this story it's all well and good to put it on your favourite list, but is it really so hard to submit a review ^^? Why not do both ^^? But yeah recently (and by recently I mean since the story has been completed) I'm not really getting reviews. Is it just me or weren't reviews meant to be what a person thought of a story not something used just for progress of a story? I really don't wanna sound like I'm being overbearing and forcing you to review, but it's always nice and higher reviews encourages more people to read which is what you want if you enjoyed it right? If you liked the story (or didn't like it heh) tell me via a review. I've got so little reviews telling me how my story turned out in the end(after it was completed), I wanna know if this story was good, if it was worth writing, I need a variety of opinions. It helps me understand my writing weaknesses, what was good and what was bad, so that future stories can be better. It also encourages me to continue the rewrites ^^. So don't be afraid, submit your opinion, it won't take long and it will make u feel better :P. So if you thought it was good and put my story on your favourite list, please submit a review as well if you can, but most importantly enjoy the story, if people are happy because they read this, well that's all that really counts in the end with fanfiction. **


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